#had loooooots of fuck and kill offers

[dnpsuck]

(different anon) i do want your opinion on the john mulaney divorce drama actually. i may even agree

i have a loooooot to say about this and it’s not at all popular so it’s under the cut and it’s long lmao cw: nuance 

my opinion is that the treatment he received after he left rehab and filed for divorce shows that we don't care about drug addicts at all. literally i once saw a tiktok that made my blood boil because they listed "is a drug addict" as a reason to hate him and... how dense can you be? addiction isn't a personality trait or a quirk, it's a fucking disease that could still kill him if he ever relapses again.

his life was never as publicized and torn apart as it was the minute he left rehab (and yet somehow people still managed to get so many things wrong?), there were tweets and tiktoks spewing all kinds of hateful things about him right after he received treatment for his relapse. also people started coming up with extremely invasive speculation and rumors (that may or may not be true but that's not the point here) and accusing him of things none of the people involved accused him of and still doubling down on their hate for him when... most things actually back the timeline john himself gave us?

around oct-dec 2020 (or even earlier) a much smaller, but super invasive, group of people in the john fandom were already aware of their separation because they were never spotted together anymore and anna fully stopped using 'mulaney' as her last name way before we knew john was in rehab (as well as people with information from "sources" etc but that's too deuxmoi-y for my taste). then john left rehab in february 2021 and immediately filed for divorce - and y'know how in rehab people are encouraged to get out of situations and relationships that can lead them to another relapse? and then he left rehab and immediately filed for divorce? what's. not. clicking.

but, anyway, the divorce news only came out around may, almost at the same time as the news about olivia and because of this timing some people to this day still believe that it all happened on the same week when in reality he and anna had not been together for like. half a year lmao

and i love anna. i'm not in any way saying she's in the wrong in this situation, she went through a shitty divorce, after a shitty year and unfortunately her ex-husband moved on really fast, and because of exaggerated public attention, he also moved on REALLY publicly, and that's fucking shitty. i felt awful for her because of course i didn't want that to happen for them, i loved john and anna together, i genuinely believe they’d be together forever and obviously i was disappointed by the news.

but the thing is... divorce happens. life in 2020 was tough on everybody, people were forced to be confined and everything was put to the test, and a relationship with an addict is difficult as is; now add the weight of a global pandemic and everything else? it's chaos. survival of the fittest and they weren’t the fittest regardless of what people imagined of them.

and we don't even know if it was the relapse leading to the divorce or the divorce leading to the relapse but it was definitely a year that put their relationship to the test and they fucking failed. people who love each other still get divorced. and they can be individually really good people who genuinely loved each other but even then relationships can become bad and if divorce seemed like the solution for the guy that needed to do something about his life in order to not relapse on cocaine again then... i'm glad he chose what was best for him.

but then you go on tiktok and there were hundreds of people who watched 2 john mulaney specials and read deuxmoi like the bible and they were saying shit like "anna got me in the divorce!!!" and doing the most to have the cleverest joke or make the best disappointed face for a few likes and it was genuinely draining. because even if the timeline he offered was 100% false and he did cheat on anna with olivia and all the other awful things he was senselessly accused of (again all anna officially said about the divorce is that she was heartbroken that he decided to end their marriage but wished him well etc), even if he did all of that, the lack of care in the way people talked about him in the first year of his recovery is just fucking cruel. 

i’m not saying everyone should’ve babied him and been like “uwu love u mr mulaney you’ve never done anything wrong ever” but on the simple basis that the guy was in recovery for a cocaine addiction, after being sober for well over a decade (for context: anna met him years after he got clean), ideally people would’ve just backed off and let the guy live his life as best as he could. even if he did things i personally wouldn’t have done in my recovery lol

and i wish anna had been left alone too - i love that she got recognition with her work because she’s very talented and dinner in march + the december 2021 version of dinner in march are fucking beautiful (the dec one is my favorite). but it’s sad that most of the people that are paying attention to her art, even now, almost 2 years later, are only doing that because they wanna diss her ex-husband. and if you’re only admiring anna’s work to find clues of john in it, then she’s not the one that got you in the divorce after all.

the other day i saw a tiktok edit of anna to some sad music with the caption like “omg it’s her song 😥” and it’s... genuinely so sad that if these are the people that are gonna be promoting her work to new audiences, she’s always gonna be tied to her ex-husband. she’s always gonna be introduced through this kind of really pathetic lens instead of having her actual work be the selling point (and her work is fantastic when you see the art itself and not the comedian she used to be married to). they’re basically dooming and reducing her to this divorce.

just leave these people alone. they’re grown adults trying to live their private lives after shitty years. if u wanna laugh at funny jokes, go do that. if u wanna look at art and photography about loss and whatnot, go do that too. stop acting like divorce is some sort of moral issue in the fucking 2020s. move on.

anyway, i know i’m biased and i'd been following john, his career and whatever he shared of his life since 2013-14, but more than a bias, it definitely makes me more sensible to the fact that john could still relapse again, and it could be fatal, and he has a lot at stake now (a whole child). so i do believe his well-being is a bigger priority than how upset i was about john and anna’s marriage ending.

he’d talked so much about his addiction and alcohol issues, which started when he was basically a kid, in his stand-up, in interviews, on podcasts, etc., and how drugs and alcohol made him a terrible person and how much work he’s had to put into controlling his urges with substances etc, and i remember him saying in some podcast (before the 2020 relapse) that he realized he needed help with his addictions when he looked at himself from an outside perspective and realized "oh i'm not rooting for that guy anymore" and then he relapses again, gets the help he needs and as soon as he's out, people decide that divorce is absolutely unacceptable and say "we're not rooting for this guy anymore" and it's like lol. nice priorities y'all got there. but anyway. i’m glad he managed to get by

TLDR; his divorce was a normal thing that happens to like 50% of marriages, and it was all blown out of proportion because of unhealthy attachments to celebrities (which i am definitely at a fault here but at least i do my best to have my facts right). people prioritized taking sides on a divorce they were not a part of and making annoying tiktoks with baseless speculation for clout instead of letting a recovering addict just recover, or letting a recent divorcee just move on

with all of that said, the most disappointing thing about john after rehab was the thing with chappelle. it was fucking embarrassing and truly unnecessary, and it’s what made me take a step back from stanning. still wishing him well 

[moonfurthetemmie]

Ok so fair warning. The plot part of Sunfall is suuuuper long and kinda incoherent. Like, it's basically brain vomit. This is also what 99% of all my AU notes look like.

its also REALLY fucking long. did i mention that. it's really, really long. 5k words.

side note, if there's anything you think i should tag for, feel free to ask. i think my joyfriend is watching twilight with people, and I can't brain in the slightest right now, so I can only think of one cw tag.

A new universe Happened, with a new Tree of Feelings and a new Nightmare and Dream. This one got fucked up, though. Like, super extra fucked up. 

The new spirits had nothing to do with it, and had no idea what was going on until it was too late. They managed to escape the AU before they got killed along with their home, but in doing do they release the thing into the rest of the multiverse. It follows them around, sensing their magic and wanting very much to take it.

Everywhere they go, people think they brought this thing with them on purpose. The thing isn’t super powerful yet, but it’s gaining power. 

Some people that see it are sent into fits of terror, rage, or are filled with seething hatred. They turn into horrid beasts that attack anything that moves; including each other.

Others are transfixed; something about this thing is so mesmerizing, it fills them with a sense of peace, happiness, love. They transform into seemingly angelic creatures, that peacefully wander…until they sense a person. Or one of the corrupted beasts. If one of these senses you, you won’t know until it’s too late. They’re just as deadly.

The newbies make it onto the news. Which immediately catches Dream’s attention. He’d been hearing strange rumors but What In The Goddamn

He goes to investigate himself, and realizes real fast that these two are not bringing this thing with them on purpose.

The new spirits are very young. they’re adults, but like. early twenties. They’re very confused as to what happened, and where they are. Why is there another spirit??? is there another tree?? what the shit

They introduce themselves as Orion and Corvus, and explain what they can, but they really don’t know what happened. there were probably signs but they didn’t. see. or notice.

Dream’s both very irritated with them and also like ‘well i didn’t even know shit like this could happen so i don’t know what fricken signs there’d be’ and he offers to let them stay in JR. They agree, gladly; they’ve barely had a chance to rest between running from this thing and trying to figure out how to get rid of it.

Unfortunately Dream is one of the few people who realized they were running from the Death Cloud(TM) turning people into horrid creatures and not causing it. There’s a loooooot of people who are mad Dream took them in and he’s getting so much shit about it. 

Corvus and Orion are very adamant that they’re going to need the other guardian from Dream’s AU to help with this. They’ve been trying to fight the creatures the thing spawns, and it, but with no success, save for dispatching a few of the beasts. They’re sure Dream on his own won’t be enough. They do not understand why he thinks negativity is bad and are just getting more stubborn every time he’s like ‘no, I’m not getting nightmare’s help. We don’t need him.’

Eventually he caves but goes ‘you’re going to have to find him yourselves and convince him to help. I’ve been trying to arrest him for the past one hundred years and I have no idea where he is. He probably won’t be too eager to help since JR is involved, either.’

He was right, but they manage to convince the Meme Squad and Dream to meet in some neutral place or something. There is no neutral ground in this situation but whatever. Dream also brings Ink and Finch. For security purposes n shit. 

They end up meeting by Dream and Nightmare’s Tree. Corvus and Orion are a little nervous about it, given what happened to theirs and the fact that the thing (which people have started calling ‘the Maelstrom’) seems to be following them around, but it’s probably fine. Right? Right.

Anyways hi Nightmare & Co., tldr ‘shits fucked and we’re going to need people who know what they’re doing and can deal with weird emotion shit. And apparently we aren’t qualified on our own, so. help please??? We’re in way over our heads’

Nightmare is wary, and he’s not so sure about this. He doesn’t want the multiverse to get eaten by a magic emotion cloud, either, but he’s not sure what he could do about it. He also doesn’t trust Dream and JR at all, shockingly.

He’s not given much time to consider, though, because speak of the devil: The Maelstrom has arrived.

Usually, when it shows up, it goes for any people in the area, or looks for Corvus and Orion.

This time, it almost immediately attacks Dream and Nightmare’s Tree

“WHOA WHAT THE FUCK”

“Oh my god we have to stop it-”

Unfortunately just being near The Maelstrom is fucking with the magic in the Tree, and the second it touches it, the Tree just…turns to sludge. And the magic it had is released, and the Maelstrom absorbs all of it.

When the thing had first come into being, it was about the size of your average car. It had been slowly been growing, and was closer to the size of a two-story house by the time it attacked Dream and Nightmare’s Tree. 

It damn near tripled in size after absorbing that Tree’s magic. And they can hear laughter coming from it. Beasts seem to suddenly materialize out of nothing, most of which turn to them.

Corvus and Orion get ready to try to do something about it, but Dream’s like “You two are going to get yourselves killed. We need to leave now.”

They do, though not without a few scrapes from the beasts. 

They end up back in JR, and they’re all very quiet until Cross goes “s. so. How do you plan on dealing with an evil sentient cloud, exactly???”

Corvus and Orion shrug helplessly

Dream looks pale. “...I’m beginning to suspect I know why it was following the two of you around. We need to find some way to deal with it, and quickly. I get the feeling time is not on our side.”

After that the entire meme squad is pretty much on board. They’d managed to miss a lot of the Maelstrom’s bullshit (to be fair, lots of things happened in a rather short period of time) and only knew there was some fucked up cloud thing turning people into horrible creatures. They didn’t know it was radiance and corruption. They also didn’t think it was going to try to eat other sources of positivity and negativity so um!!! That’s not good!!!!!!!

They try to make a plan, but things are worse than Dream thought. The entire multiverse is demanding to know why JR isn’t taking care of this dumb fuckin cloud!! Someone says they saw him, his captain, and his personal assistant meet with the two girls that showed up when the Maelstrom did, and the Meme Squad. 

Dream is also having his crisis about positivity not being as great as he thought in real time so he has to deal with the people’s fear and paranoia and shouting, and his crisis, and The Maelstrom getting bigger and stronger, and also Nightmare, Cross, and Error being like “boy i sure am glad that radiance is pure and shit and all the creatures made of radiance are peaceful and totally on our side” while trying to make a plan with everyone.

Most of JR is going through a similar ‘crisis’ as Dream, though he’s definitely feeling it most. Dream is keeping as many of his people updated on the Maelstrom’s shit as he can.

The Meme Squad didn’t realize any of this was happening, though, and are surprised when they find they can walk through JR almost completely unimpeded. They get a few dirty looks from time to time, but no one gives them shit. They ask Dream if he’d actually told everyone that they weren’t to be arrested or whatever and Dream just blinks and goes “...I honestly completely forgot about that, between everything going on.”

“you forgot you were trying to kill me for the past century?”

“No, I forgot to tell the guards that you’re free to roam the castle.”

“...you were actually going to???”

“Nightmare i have four or five things i have to pay attention to right now please do not start this right now. You can bitch about it as much as you want after we deal with The Maelstrom but if you start now i’m going to have a stress-induced heart attack and then we’ll both be fucked”

“Understandable have a nice day”

Stress what stress what are you talking about

Much too soon, Dream gets a report that the Maelstrom is attacking a very densely populated city. Literally the best plan they have right now is Ink’s (very not serious) suggestion of “clouds are made of gases, right? Maybe if we cool it down enough we can have an evil emotions ice cube instead of a cloud and we can lock it up in a deep freezer in Antarctica or something.” but fuck they can’t let it kill everyone, or turn all of those people into beasts

Dream, Corvus, Orion, the Meme Squad, and many other JR people including Ink and Finch go after The Maelstrom. The manage to lure it away from the city, but there’s already so many beasts. The ones it seems to be creating out of thin air are small and very weak, but it can make a lot of them, very fast. Many of Dream’s people are either killed or turned; sometimes both, as their former teammates have to cut them down.

Dream is severely injured in the fight, and his injuries, made from a far out-of-control magic that directly opposes his own, are basically eating away at him.

Corvus and Orion, though? The poor fools get petrified. Orion got smacked with some of  The Maelstrom’s corruption while she was trying to fend off one of the beasts. One hit, and suddenly she was stone. That uh…that scared Corvus a little. She managed to dispatch the beast before it destroyed Orion, but she was too panicked. She saw the blinding, poisoned radiance coming and just froze.

Between them being turned to stone and Dream looking like he’s dying from his wound, it was decided it was time for a tactical retreat.

The survivors of the attack didn’t come back feeling at all victorious. They weren’t even sure they’d managed to chase off the Maelstrom. They’d lost all those people for nothing.

Dream knew he’d need a back-up plan in case shit hit the fan, and he did have one, but none of those accounted for the possibility of Corvus and Orion getting turned to stone, so he’s going to have to rethink that. He starts making notes of what’s happened, and puts together everything they know about the entity, so Corvus and Orion can see them when they’re revived. He’s not sure what will happen to Corvus and Orion’s memories after they’re stone for who knows how long, so he doesn’t want to take chances. He knows they can be revived, though. He’s not sure how, but he can still sense their auras, so he knows they’re not dead, and if they’re not dead then whatever this is must be reversible somehow. Right…?

Once the others have recovered from the fight, they carefully return to the site of battle. Much to their relief, almost all of the beasts are ignoring the lovely garden decorations, and they manage to bring Corvus and Orion’s statues to JR. It’s a bit of an Ordeal, but they manage. They’re carefully stored in a secret area under the castle that’s usually reserved as an emergency shelter.

Dream talks to Nightmare, Finch, Ink, Cross, and Error, and goes ‘ok so. Corvus and Orion are going to need someone to keep an eye on them and protect them while they’re like that. I won’t be able to, and…well, I don’t think JR is going to survive this. Not with how the people are talking.’

Cross and Error don’t really want to help Dream, just on principle alone, but Dream unfortunately has a point. Finch and Ink tho are down

Nightmare doesn’t make Cross and Error help, but he says ‘you two know more about the tree and its bullshit than most people. you’re like, some of the most qualified people to do this.’

Dream’s got more time than they thought, though, and he and Nightmare follow the Maelstrom and try to learn as much as they can about it and the creatures it spawns. They do their best to keep the others from knowing, too; they’ll insist Dream and Nightmare Not Do That, so Dream doesn’t kill the both of them faster and Nightmare doesn’t get the pair of them killed. 

It’s strange to be working together like this after all this time, but they don’t want to risk anyone else’s safety. They’re dying anyways, they might as well do it. Nightmare’s the one that actually follows the thing and watches, with a body cam and a radio so Dream can see what’s going on and Nightmare can tell him anything else he sees/figures out. Dream writes down everything he can. He’s not in any shape to be in the field but by god is he going to do what he can to help. They both note that no one else has turned to stone.

They get a lot of info; a very impressive amount of info given their (literal) deadline, but eventually Dream succumbs to his injuries, taking Nightmare with him. Before that happens, though, Cross and Error decide to do what they can to help out, and Nightmare asks them to help Finch and Ink sort through the notes Dream’s making (“About what??” “just listen-”) and organize it and maybe translate things into common english instead Dream English if need be. 

As much as Dream wanted to organize it as he went, they didn’t have time. So it’s a mess. 

Cross, Error, Ink, and Finch do as they were asked, and are. A little scared, actually. Holy shit. They got all this?? Nothing on how to beat the thing, but it’s still way more than they knew before.

(they notice that Dream’s hand writing gets steadily shakier. The later notes are almost unreadable. He must’ve been in a lot of pain. Cross and Error wonder if Nightmare started to feel it at some point before they died.)

There’s…not much to do after that, though. There’s no telling when the new spirits are going to wake up. The four of them aren’t sure they’ll be around long enough to see them wake. 

After a while, Ink goes ‘yknow i think someone was working on cloning whole people. We could clone ourselves’

Finch: have they even managed to do that yet

Ink: i don’t know but we could ask. They’d probably jump at the chance to have a bunch of willing test subjects too

Cross: oh fuck yeah, mad science

Error: doesn’t cloning mean creating an embryo or something

Cross: Cross: i know what you’re getting at and i am no longer excited

Finch: We could probably find surrogates. 

Error and Cross: Dubious eyebrow raise

Ink: or they could grow the clones in a big test tube

Finch: I’m pretty sure that only works in movies

Error: That’d be way cooler, though. And we wouldn’t have to find someone who’d be willing to be the surrogate of clones of the two people who were closest to JR’s most wanted criminal

Ink: and i mean, really, all you’ll have to do is recreate the amniotic sac fluid and find a way to get an umbilical chord to connect to a thing of fetus nutrients 

Finch: that is a horrifying mental image

Cross: The umbilical chord takes nutrients and shit from the blood of the pregnant person so really you’d just need a giant bag of blood

Finch: Jess Christ

Cross: If it was his blood it’d have to be wine, and I don’t think that’s good for a fetus

Error: I think it would cause a fetus deletus

Finch: I’m going to have a fucking aneurism

anyways. 

The four of them go to find the Cloning Scientist™ 

Hey wait who’s that

It’s BLOO

Yeah the scientist person was basically putting out fliers that was like “VOLUNTEERS WANTED: TRYING TO MAKE CLONES” and Blue was like “well i’ve got nothing better to do. sure”

He’s also just showed up

It’s very awkward with him, Cross, and Error but the girls and Finch are like ‘excuse me we were looking for the person who’s researching cloning?’ and the scientist started fucking vibrating 

Thats SO MANY MORE PEOPLE than they expected!!! Holy shit!!!!! Fuck yeah they’ll make clones of you!! Or, try to. They think they’ve perfected the technique but there’s only one way to find out for sure, and anything could go wrong. So like jot that down

Conveniently they’ve also figured out how to incubate a fetus in a giant test tube, which they tried with animal clones first, so they don’t need to find surrogates, or carry the clones themselves! Which, that last one wouldn’t be an option for blue anyways, but he’s just here to donate his cells to science so he doesn’t care about that. They did this partly because ‘fuck yeah test tube babies’, and partly so that if something happened, they’d only lose the clone and not risk the surrogate’s life also. Pregnancy complications are scary

Blue has had no fuckin idea what’s been going on; he’s heard some things, but the shit hasn’t reached his AU yet so it’s mostly been from the News. They fill him in. He goes 👁️👁️ ‘what’

Very fun! Anyways

The other four are like ‘s. So. what do we do now’

Finch goes ‘mm. I should probably tell my boyfriend about this’

‘,,,is he interested in cloning shit or something’

‘Nnnot as far as I know?’

‘,,?? Im confused’

‘.....who do you think is going to have to take care of the clones when they’re born’

Three blank stares of ‘oh, shit.’

‘Oh for fucks sake you three’

Currently Blue doesn’t have to worry about this. He is not intending to train the child to protect and watch over a pair of idiots who could decide the future of the multiverse when they wake up. He’s more than happy to let the Scientist take care of the clone.

The five of them go check in with the cloning scientist a few times. Blue out of curiosity, and the others to mostly just make sure nothing’s wrong. Finch and the girls have even offered to help fund them if they need it, and while the scientist isn’t sure they want to take Cross and Error in particular up on that offer, they do appreciate it. Things are going along pretty well!

As the months tick away, lots of things happen.

Finch has some people take a look at Corvus and Orion, and see if they can find some way to revive them. So far there’s been nothing, except basically a rehash of what Dream said about them still being alive bc I Feel Auras, but there was a tentative suggestion of putting them in a room with an AOE magic suppressor to try to degrade whatever ‘curse’ this is faster, if they can’t find a proper counter-spell or cure or whatever.

Hacker also decides that yeah he’ll absolutely help Finch take care of his clone. He’s not like, amazing with kids, but he’s not going to make Finch deal with it himself. They can probably figure out a lot of it together, right? Also there’s Randy

Cross, Ink, Error, and Finch get together and go “I don’t think any of us know how to take care of kids maybe we should like. Do this together or something. Group support or whatever.”

The people know Dream’s dead, but they’re still pushing for JR to do something. Maybe he’s gone, but surely they can figure something out? Unless this was all planned from the beginning!

Yeah, that’s really stupid; but they’re terrified. Not knowing who to blame, they pin it on someone. 

Plus, JR is trying to find a leader! Finch is a good fit, but he’s not sure he can juggling that and watching over Corvus and Orion and raising his clone, even with Hacker’s help, so he’s basically like ‘nah not it’. Ink knows enough about the inner workings of JR that she hypothetically could, but not only does she not want to, no one else wants her to. Which leaves…about 50 people who are qualified and yelling ‘pick me pick me!!’ There’s not a whole lot they can do without a leader. All the lower people in the hierarchy can decide what they want their underlings to do, sure, but they’re having a hell of a time trying to coordinate with each other and fucking cooperate. It doesn’t help that many of them are insisting that it’s useless to try to fight this. 

Unnervingly, for every person who says this in fear, there’s another who seems to be at peace with the thought.

Also, one of the unexpected benefits of the clones getting to incubate in test tubes means that you don’t need an ultrasound to see how the little shits are doing! It didn’t take the scientist very long to notice that Ink’s clone was doing something weird. They called literally everyone, because Blue has expressed curiosity in the clones and the others have other investments that they refuse to disclose (suspicious, but whatever. science), when they realized they had fucking TWINS

“GUYS ink’s clone is two”

“,,,,what”

“TWINS”

“....what the fuck”

“I KNOW :DD”

They were so excited. Ink was not so excited, but it was kind of cool. The scientist had to bring a proper baby doctor in to take a look (who was also kinda fascinated by the test tube babies) to tell if they were twins or not, since it was basically just a lump of tissue at that point, so while Scientist called everyone to see, there…really wasn’t much to see, except the medical doctor being fascinated by the clones’ development and how well Scientist managed to execute this, and Scientist furiously scribbling notes and talking a mile a minute about how “Well with how the clones were made, it should’ve occurred to me that identical twins were a possibility. But what were the chances-” 

“About 32 in every 1,000 live births,” the doctor calls from across the room. “This is so much more helpful than an ultrasound! A shame we can’t do this for every baby.”

“-Twins!!!” the scientist says grinning, like an excited parent. Ink, the actual to-be parent of the twins, looks like she’s writing her will in her head.

Finally, after roughly nine months, the five who got cloned get a call from the cloning scientist, who is VERY excited. The test tube fetuses are now whole ass babies!!!! They have successfully cloned a human! Five of them, even! ...or. Six? Five humans, six clones. Yeah.

Cross, Ink, Error, and Finch can’t take their clones yet, because the Doctor is back and needs to run tests to make sure they’re healthy, which Scientist is very very excited about. They also want to keep an eye on the little guys for a few days to make sure everything’s fine.

…On the second day Finch calls Cross and Error in a panic and says the Maelstrom found its way to JR.

The come rushing, only to find Blue there too. He says Scientist called him and said they needed someone to grab the clones and get them out of the AU, and that they weren’t sure they themself would make it out. He was not expecting the Maelstrom to have shown is misty ass but uhh. That’s not good

The three of them find Finch quickly, who tells them to grab the clones and run. He and Ink are on their way to get Corvus and Orion, but people are already turning into beasts. the Maelstrom has gotten powerful enough that its mere presence can cause transformations, even if you’re not aware of it. Be careful.

When they get to the lab, the scientist and doctor are already dead. There’s a pair of beasts in there; one of each kind, who seem more focused on each other than the screaming baby clones, thank god. 

They definitely notice the adults, though. Cross gets the things’ attention and tells Blue and Error to get the clones out of there. They have to yell at Blue a few times to get him to move; he’s just been staring in horror at the bodies. When they get him to snap out of it, though, he moves fast. The clones get out quick, and Error has Blue go through the portal with the last of them while she helps Cross dispatch the beasts.

Later Blue and Error will wonder how the heck they made that go so smoothly between the two of them, given gestures at their relationship, but it’s done now. 

They try to get to the shelter where Corvus and Orion are, but there’s too many beasts and panicking people in the way. They, grudgingly, meet up with Blue and the baby clones

“,,,,error why are we all in Blue’s house”

“Well i wasn’t bringing him, Ink, or Finch to our house, and there’s not exactly anyone else we know who even lives outside of JR. Did you want me to drop him and the babies off in the baby section of walmart???”

“ok yeah that’s fair”

Ink and Finch found even more beasts in the shelter. And blood. They realize that people had tried to hide here when the Maelstrom showed up, but weren’t spared any more than those upstairs had been. 

They try not to think about how many of the beasts were people they knew, and just try to kill them before they can get to Orion and Corvus. The spirits are locked in a room that only Finch has a key for, but all the beasts seem eager to get in there. Many are trying to tear the door down. 

It’s almost an hour before Cross, Error, and Blue see Ink and Finch. They look grim, and are covered in the beasts’ blood, but Orion and Corvus are safe. After they get nice long showers, they all trade stories. 

There are six entire homeless baby clones in Blue’s living room. Five are already spoken for, but…?

Blue’s clone is fast asleep. They’d been the first to fall asleep once they’d been taken to safety. Some of the others were still crying, but Blue’s clone seemed content. 

After some careful consideration (read: making excuses to himself despite knowing better) he decides he’s going to try to take care of them.

The others are like ‘you can. Find someone to adopt them’ but he’s apparently made up his mind. Why is entirely beyond them but Finch invites him to the parent support group thing

Cross and Error take lil Xena and Java home, and Finch and Ink are like ‘welp time to head home’

And then stop and blink

They lived in jr. in the apartments. Which was under attack a little bit ago. um.

‘,,,,actually blue can you take these guys a sec.’

‘Yeeaaah go make sure things are ok’

Nothing is okay, the castle is wrecked. Several portions of wall have collapsed. There’s beasts everywhere. 

They might be able to get through the rubble to rescue some of their shit, but not with these beasts. Finch wants to at least look for survivors, but it’s too risky. 

Congratulations you two, you are now homeless. Finch can at least move in with Hacker, but Ink doesn’t have anywhere to go, unless she wants to try moving in with Blue, Cross and Error, or Finch and Hacker and Hacker’s adoptive dad and sister. Which she really doesn’t. She’ll have to stay with someone for a while though.

She ends up staying with Blue until she can afford her own place. She doesn’t really want to ask Cross and Error and is real sure they wouldn’t let her move in anyways. Even if it looks like JR is completely gone and she wouldn’t get them arrested.

They gotta do something about Corvus and Orion, though. They’re just kinda sitting in Blue’s yard right now and the Maelstrom is definitely trying to get at them, so they really, really can’t stay there. 

They get moved several times before, after a lot of research on the side and some very risky stealth trips to the ruins of JR’s various labs and shit, they figure out how to make a room that can conceal Corvus and Orion’s auras. They stick a magic suppressor in there, too. Just in case it does help revive them.

Some of the research that Dream and Nightmare did was lost in the attack on JR, but Ink and Finch managed to save most of it, and between the four of them they did actually remember some of what was missing and wrote it down. They’re sure there’s still stuff missing, but they’re going to try to learn more about the Maelstrom anyways so,,

They make as many copies of the notes as they can, though. Just in case. The main bulk of it, the thick notebook Dream had started his notes in and that the others had carefully sorted through, stays with Corvus and Orion. Cross, Ink, Finch, and Error each have a copy. They give one to Blue too just in case because these notes are all they have on how they could possibly deal with this thing, and how it works. They can’t lose them.

As the clone kids get older the adults are very transparent about what they are. It feels like something they probably shouldn’t hide. The kids don’t fully understand for a while though.

Finch and the girls also take their clones to see statues Corvus and Orion. They add more complicated stuff to the story of who the two are as the kids get older, until it’s Everything.

Eventually, when the kids are no longer kids and are whole ass adults, and the older versions are middle-aged at best, Orion and Corvus de-petrify 

They may not have been frozen in ice for the past ~20 years, but dear god their brains are mushy. Corvus keeps flirting with everyone, including herself when she sees her reflection. Orion is dazed and keeps mumbling something about calamari. Neither can stand on their own. Anyone who gets too near Corv gets “i bet you’re sooooo strong <333 you should carry me <3333”

They’re still loopy and dumb when the older ones get there, and Corv is like ‘omg it’s you guys <3333 hi <333’ while Orion goes ‘you were there too,,,,,with the fucking,,,,,squid cloud,,,’

The older ones completely ignore Corv’s flirting. Sorry sweetie but you’re still like 20 you’re too young for them now. Corv is SO upset

Once the spirits recover some (and corv is absolutely mortified by her own behavior while Orion tries not to snicker) the others catch them up on what’s happened

“The fuck you mean you cloned yourselves. Also who the hell is that guy”

“that’s blue he’s just some guy. He also cloned himself but only for science”

“What”

And now Corvus and Orion have to take a crash course in all the info the older ones have gathered in the past two decades, and also maybe get better at fighting. They were decent before but it wasn’t enough, and now the thing has gotten stronger. 

[kittytheartist]

anon is soooooooo fucking sorry for the late addition! i thought that i send this but realized that i didn't oh god

but i'm glad to know that u liked the crime seeking wonderlandian duo!! after all, tiara needs to interact more with one of her brothers' bfs that will kill for her!!

anyways!! – anon is thinking of how mitsuba is trying to stop tiara from meeting her brothers, and vice versa, is because he's afraid that once both parties found out, tiara and kou will hate and leave him (and teru's sword is aiming at his neck) and then failing in the process since it's difficult with said brothers appearing from left and right, and now being in the same place at the same time in the still-forgot-dinner-name that the duo are going to (rather, attempt and might fail) to steal from and god do we hope that shijima finds tiara adorable enough to spare her!!

but can i imagine mitsukou?? ofc i can imagine mitsukou!! though i am awful at talking or thinking some ideas for their dynamics since i'm not 5x-obsessed with them like with terukane, anon could still imagine the angst so here is some mitsukou angst!!

mitsuba feels loooooots of guilt as he gets to know and spend more time with kou, even "helping" him in finding his lost sister through misdirecting him and messing with traces and evidences that tiara was in that area in the first place. But after sometime, when he realized that he had fallen for the chesire cat, mitsuha started to plan in telling the minamoto siblings about the truth because he believes this is for the best: he practiced; he prepared himself when tiara and kou, the two people that he thinks he wouldn't mind to be with for a bit longer, leaves and hates his entire being; he reminds himself that working alone is better; and then he set the date.

however, mitsuba forgot about tsukasa to add to his preparations, the one he shouldn't have involved with in the first place – and soooo, tsukasa interferes with mitsuba's planned confession: he mocks, twisting mitsuba's words but still spoke of the truth and straight to the point. mitsuba panics sooo bad that he screams, of how it was all true and what's so bad about it, and how he wished that he never revealed to them about the truth just in front of a sobbing tiara and a shocked and furious kou

and u can probs guess on what had happened : D

now back to the terukaneaoi!! – again, anon is glad to know that i got aoi on the point!! i'v got a feeling that the more i made some good characterization on aoi, the more i had a feeling that i kin her😭😭

but i had to send another ask of terukane because i had a feeling that this is suuuch a long ask!!

again, thank u for letting me talk with u about this wonderland au of urs!!

Anon you're back! I was thinking about my wonderland au JUST YESTERDAY

and here you areeee hii I was wondering where you ran off too....

anyways the MitsuKou angst you sent today? wow

honestly I could angst fest this entire au, and that'd be so funny to see ppls faces when I tell them the HUGE dark turn everything takes, because wonderland can have some REALLY dark turns and adaptations, and I would love to feed you some angst >:)

and yes you're doing a great job on analyzing Aoi, also being an Aoi kin is rough, I mean, I'm a Teru kin....and Akane kin... anyways ehehe

at this point Mitsuba has been hiding and stealing with Tiara for a while, he has no idea how to tell or even show Kou and Teru that their long lost sister has always been with him, but he thinks if they do find out, they'd reset him for ever keeping her from them and take her away, his only friend in wonderland, he couldn't steal with her, couldn't rhyme, couldn't bicker, and he'd lose his only crush, he likes Kou, he doesn't want to lose him, he may not know Kou that much but he means a lot more day by day, Tsukasa the Hare(imposter rabbit lmao) offers him a chance, and tells him to come to a tea party, it's much better and you can get away from everything, one day Mitsuba went to a tea party and accidentally stood Tiara up, she was very upset, and most of the time sat on a tree kicking her legs lonely, Mitsuba didn't even enjoy the company at the mad tea party, but he felt included, like he could fit in, but when he saw Tiara after he felt horrible and didn't even realize he had hurt her feelings. when Kou openly talks about his sister, and says he'll find and rescue her, and his brother will be proud of him, and maybe one day he'll get to play as a white knight in the chess board. and he searchs blindly, Mitsuba can see this and he knows where Tiara is, but if they met, what would happen to him?

one day telling Tsukasa about his irrational fears of this, Tsukasa can't help but agree, and give him pointers on why this has messed everything up, as wonderlandians do, he'll decide it all makes sense, and that Mitsuba has ruined their family for what it used to be, but that's fine, bc Tsukasa doesn't care he just wants another cup of tea. Mitsuba feels horrible after this, and one day, when Mitsuba stumbled across the Cheshire cat, he was talking with him, but suddenly Tiara runs out from the bushes and excitedly tugs at his sleeve to tell him something about a wonderlandian they could rob, only to notice who he was talking to, quickly hiding behind Mitsuba, she wonders who that is, Kou is completely speechless, and after Kou angrily stating and asking questions, Mitsuba bursts into tears and tells him everything was a ruse and that was his sister, Tiara was so heartbroken, she had thought she never had a family, and only remembered a silhouette, so gentle, bright teeth, so sharp, and a mother's voice, she had never imagined that THE Cheshire cat of wonderland, whom she had never seen, was her brother, she could see the shining teeth and his funny tail, it was a sense of familiarity.

there's some details I left out that I liked in your rant but sksjdhdjdnd I just woke up and am not going over everything...

idk Anon ig this is how I'd imagined it more, because Tsukasa doesn't really interfere with Mitsuba in cannon? he only came in to change his rumor and only said how he saw and took his words, he's an evil supernatural that's why he'd ever take them as such when wish granting, I can't see the Hare interfering that much, probably just talking down to Mitsuba without noticing when he's drinking his tea. but tbh both written angst variations are good, and the Teru and Tiara reunion?? WOULD BE SO CUTE AND HEARTWARMING

but yeah, Teru would have it out for Mitsuba, after he gets his sister safe in his lap he is so quick to cut the mfs head off, and is so confused when Tiara tells him no and talks about all the fun they had and that she wants to go on more playdates (heists) with him, and Mitsuba is so emotional the next time he sees Tiara bc he missed her so much, but suddenly he's not protecting her it's her scary knight brother ....but it took a lot of convincing from Tiara to see Mitsuba jsjsjsj

the LAST thing Teru wanted was Tiara near him again, and even humbly asked the white queen for permission to publicly execute him, the white queen asking for a reason and eventually giving permission (why tf does she care??) but Tiara burst into tears when Kou confronted Teru about it in front of her, suddenly the protective and caring brother is being begged by his siblings not to harm a hair on this detestable thing, he's naturally weak to them so he gives in, with a warning of course, and watches them VERY closely, but he still has a duty to attend too....(and fighting Akane cough cough)

Kou still loves Mitsuba but he doesn't know what to do or think about what he did, but in the end they make up and Tiara and Mitsuba get to go on playdates, and when they're unmonitored they rob ppl, Kou and Teru still don't know their little sister one of two of the wonderlandian theifs

so when is my TeruKane rant? I love my boys dynamic so much—

anyways the possibility for angst in this au can go on for miles tbh, but I'll shut up now

ok tysm for the ask Anon! this is always so fun ehehe and your ranting is so amazing to read, and I'm glad you enjoy this au sm!! and would love to hear more♡♡

[cryinglittlepeople]

So we've seen a lot of Izuru + drugs, but what about Rose? You can't tell me he hasn't experimented at all! :U

Hmmmmmm, I actually had to kinda sit down and think abt this one a little.

Because I draw Izuru doing heroin specifically, bc it’s a way to cope for him, it’s not for fun at all. It’s an extremely nasty, and addictive drug. One that’s killed a loooooot of musicians btw, so when it comes to heroin (and any variations of it like opium), Rose would not be into that AT ALL. In fact he’d be trying quite hard to make Izuru stop doing it.

So in general, no downers or opioids for Rose, I think. Besides the fact that they’re just straight up nasty, I also don’t think he’d be into the way they slow the thinking and body. 

Now, uppers , that’s an interesting one.Rose is energetic as fuck, nearly manic at times. And all over the place if he has a creative idea. Stuff like mdma and such I don’t really see him taking simply bc I think he’d find them a little.....gauche.....They are club drugs, party drugs. As for the big one, cocaine,.....weeeellll....I can actually see him doing that. But in a kinda specific way, and he’d pretty much regret it every time because of the awful feeling of coming down from it. So only on small occasions, and if it’s offered, he won’t buy any.

So what we got left is the hallucinogens, and now THAT is Rose’s business. Acid is where it is AT for that man. He’s done of his best work on acid I’m sure. And acid is a looong high btw, I’m talking 12 hours. Just 12 hours of creating music and art and writing. 

Oh and weed. Rose is a weed man.

[see-jess-write]

Crescent || Matt & Phoenix

Tagging: Matthew Davidson & Phoenix Williams ( @shamelessly-yours​ ) When: August 8, 2019 Where: A house party  Notes: They meet and get to chatting.

Matt 

Matt was getting a little burnt out on these parties he kept getting dragged to. It didn’t help that there were some people at these things that wore buckets of cheap perfume and cologne so it left him with the loveliest of headaches. He wanted to take off but one of his friends asked him to come and after only being there an hour would probably result in hearing all the whines about it later. He tried to make the best of it and after stationing himself outside with his sixth beer; it wasn’t too bad. He chatted with some people her and there, checking them out and flashing that goofy, charming smile of his. Maybe he’ll take one of him home later. Hard to tell with the night being so young...

Phoenix 

Phoenix was quite frankly bored. These kind of parties weren't exactly her cup of tea, she'd sooner have a strawberry smoothie than a Coors light. She'd settled somewhere in the middle with a fruity cocktail some guy had been making in the kitchen. Her girl friends had all scattered now, no doubt chatting to guys or dancing their hearts out. Good on them. But that wasn't her scene either. The noise was too much and she decided to escape outside. The cool air made goosebumps raise on her exposed skin, the low cut emerald dress hardly doing anything to protect her, but she didn't mind. Outside was where she was happiest, in all weathers and conditions. Her eyes scanned across the area, everyone seemed happy enough, chatting away to each other. One guy sat alone, beer in hand. He had a nice smile, that he flashed in her direction. Fuck it, she thought, the cocktail going to her head a little and headed towards him, adding a little sway to her hips as she walked. "Lost your friends?" She joked, laughing at herself a moment later.

Matt 

Matt been in the middle of drinking his beer, which was practically water to him, and eyed who came up to him. The drink sat on his thigh and a warm smile spread, “Funny of you to assume I have any. Could he the total lone wolf kind of guy,” he teased, still lounging comfortably in the patio chair. “What brings you out here? Wait, let me guess. You got to missing me in there and went on the hunt to find me...” he knew that wasn’t it but still went on, “Yeah. I think that’s what happened.”

Phoenix 

Phoenix quirked her eyebrow at the cocky guy. Sure, he was pretty handsome and seemed comfortable being alone, but was there any need in that? "Wow," she breathed and gave another laugh, "You're big headed," she stated with a shake of her head. "The music was too loud, actually. I saw you all alone and figured you might like some company but if you're happy alone..." She drifted off and took a sip of her drink while slowly starting to turn away, giving him chance to call her back.

Matt 

A hand went to the side of his cheek, than the top of his head; "Am I? Figured my head is pretty normal size, so maybe I should check in with a doctor to make sure everything's okay." It took a lot, a loooooot a lot to really phase him. "Hey now. I may be putting out that leave me the fuck alone vibe but I wouldn't actually mind some company. You've been to one house party you've been to them all. But Jamie over there begged and begged for me to come so..." he motioned to himself and leaned forward with an easy smile. "You look familiar...." Matt looked at the red hair and a name popped in. "I think I know. Last name...Williams.....?"

Phoenix 

Phee quirked an eyebrow as he checked his head, obviously unimpressed by his antics. Why did she have to choose the most childish guy at the party to talk to? Still, she stayed as he continued and sleuthed out her last name. "I am impressed." She ran a hand through her long hair, pushing it behind her ear. "Hm..." She looked over her shoulder, "The idiot playing beer pong and missing every shot? That's my brother, Leo." She admitted and looked back to the lazing guy in front of her. "Think he's buddies with your pal Jamie too. I haven't seen you around before though," she admitted. "You new to town?"

Matt 

There was this type of expression, one he's seen before and most people would find this discouraging Matt practically lapped it up. He was a what do I've got to lose type of guy. Something he's grown accustomed to with his type of lifestyle, plus boring made him itchy. "Ah. Leo. Figured so. And you must be Phoebe, right?" He knew it was Phoenix,  because of the whole bird from the flames reference and the fact the light behind her made some of those long strands look aflame. "It's a good thing I'm not playing against your brother. Would have made it into strip beer pong and he'd be flashing his bits about now." Matt motioned to the seat next to him. "Guess you can say I'm new. Moved here about six months ago. I've seen you around but your Leo doesn't exactly invite you out to our little gatherings."

Phoenix 

"Phoenix." She corrected quickly, "Most people call me Phee." She glanced to her brother again, pulling a face as he missed another shot. Not that she's be any better, hand eye co ordination wasn't a strong trait in their family. "I'm very glad you're not playing against him then. I do not want to see my brother's dick hanging out." She glanced at the chair, then back to him. She'd rather stand than settle in beside him, just incase. "No, he doesn't. He'd probably kill me if he saw me here. Apparently I'm bad for his rep," she laughed and shook her head, red hair moving back into her face again. "I came with my girlfriend's. But they are all... Preoccupied at the moment.". She pointed to a brunette who was currently locking lips with some beefed up guy.

Matt 

“Ah. Phee. How could I not remember that? Bet you get a lot of people bringing up the usual River Phoenix reference with you, huh?” He’d be fucking floored if she actually knew who that was. “And there. That’s what I want to hear. I actually had one chick tell me she’s see her brother’s junk and I noped out of that conversation so fast.” Matt shook his head slowly and leaned back again. “Aren’t you cold in that dress? I’ve got a jacket on the back of this chair if you want it. Just have to promise not to go through the pockets. I keep my treasures in there.” He looked to the girl making out with Andrews and laughed. “Oh, I have a feeling we won’t be seeing those two for awhile.”

Phoenix 

River Phoenix. So funny. "Actually you're the first person to ever bring him up," she pointed out before laughing at the next comment. She'd have noped the fuck out of that conversation too. "I don't want your jacket, or your treasures," she air quoted the last word. Was that lame? Maybe. Phee didn't keep up with these things. "That's exactly why I'm here chatting to you." She realized something then. "And you are...?"

Matt 

“You’re shitting me? He was one of those one in a life time actors from the 90s. How can people not jump to that?” Matt shook his head, tsking this. “First you don’t take that seat that I so generously offered, was even about to clear all the crap off it for you. Now no jacket or what’s in my pockets; which you would have seen was a pack of gum and my phone.” He sighed dramatically. “Worried I’ve got cooties or something. I’m caught up with all my shots. Scout’s honor.” He finished his beer and set it next to another empty. “I’ll let you take a wild guess. If you get it right I’ll head in and get you whatever that is you’re drinking. Smells like something fruity. Strawberry daiquiri?”

Phoenix 

Phoenix moved her eyes to the empty cans beside him, then back to his face. "I don't want you getting any ideas, drunk guys do that sometimes." A hint that she knew he'd had a fair few. "As for your name..." She hummed, pushing her hair back again. Her brother hardly spoke to her these days, but she knew all of his high school buddies, which this guy was obviously not. "Matt? You know my drink. Fetch." She grinned at him deviously.

Matt 

He twiddled his thumbs, expecting her to get it wrong right off the bat but his jaw dropped and the man had to laugh. “You sneaky sneak. Over there acting like you don’t know who I am.” He shook his head and got up his feet. “It’s basically like you played me. But,” he ran his hand through his tussled auburn hair. “A deal’s a deal. I’ll go and fetch your daiquiri since you never told me what you’re drinking and now you’re stuck with that choice.”

Phoenix 

Phoenix dampened her lips because yeah, she'd never seen him before, but she knew the one name her brother had only just started mentioning. Phoenix shrugged her shoulders, proud of herself for beating the cocky asshole at his own game. "It is a daiquiri. You have a good nose." She replied with a half smirk as she sat down in the seat he'd just vacated to watch him head back towards the house. The space still smelled like him, or maybe it was his warm jacket hung on the back. Woody and musky. Not floral or over the top, not the stench of after shave or cologne, just a natural scent that made her insides quiver, just a bit. Fuck. She leaned back, inhaling his scent again because God did he smell good. Phee loved the outdoors and Matt smelled like the woods and growth and petricore. Refreshing. She drank the rest of her cocktail while she waited. Before long he was headed back towards her and Phee sat up straighter, crossing her long bare legs, leaning an elbow on her knee. "You took your time," she commented with a quirked eyebrow, challenging him as she held her hand out for her drink.

Matt 

There were more people at this party than before and Matt had to give it to Jamie. Kid acted like he didn’t know a lot of people and most of the city was crammed in this tiny ass house. He moseyed his way to the kitchen and grabbed a couple tequila shots while the blender did his thing. Matt even got an ass grab from an unknown person but he didn’t think much about it since he was currently annoying someone new. The shots warmed him for the most part but his high tolerance made it such a fucking pain to feel more than a slight buzz. He returned to the backyard and walked through someone’s vape cloud which made him grimace. But when he saw Phee in his seat he laughed and stood in front of her with the drink. “Hmmm. Since you’re fine with taking what’s mine, maybe I should do the same with yours.” Matt acted as if he was about to drink her daiquiri but he handed it to her. “Even added an umbrella. Flared it up.”

Phoenix 

Phee enjoyed the banter, her pink to give darting over her bottom lip. Even one daiquiri was enough to give her more confidence than usual, but she didn't react to him pretending to drink her cocktail, just took it and looked at the umbrella he'd added. "Well ain't I a lucky girl?" She asked with a grin before plucking the garnish from the drink and taking a long sip. "Except these things are a nightmare for the environment you know? Next time skip the fancy stuff,"

Matt 

Matt cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms over his chest, “Is it? It’s made out of wood and paper so why not toss it in the recycling bin?” He moved the plate from the chair next to her and sat down. Matt relaxed and did a bit of people watching, Well, more listening since he could pick up a lot of conversations happening around them. He leaned over and asked, “You see that guy over there? The one in the red shirt.” Matt motioned at him with a chin point,

Phoenix 

Phee pouted at him, "Just because you can recycle something, doesn't mean it's good for the environment. Think of how much energy and how many trees had to be killed for this tiny novelty one use thing," She sighed sadly as he sat beside her. "Hm?" Phee glanced to where he was indicating,noting the guy in the red shirt. "What about him?"

Matt 

Matt nodded along and thought about what she said. “Makes sense there, Phee. I never got into doing too much when it comes to recycling or environmental things but I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, turning to look at her and meaning it. If he hadn’t picked up at how the color in her cheeks reddened or the accelerated heart beat he might have dismissed it but her passion got him thinking at least. “So,” He said, returning his attention to red shirt guy. “He was on the phone with someone. Girl I think,” He knew it was a chick for sure because he heard her loud and clear. “Apparently they hooked up and he stole her panties. He doesn’t want to give them back.”

Phoenix 

Phee quirked her head in the direction of the man, brows drawing together. "I have so many questions right now,"she said with a little laugh, "Um, first of all, is that the kind of thing guys talk about? How they steal girls panties and won't give them back?"

Matt 

“Apparently that’s the kind of thing Mr. Red Shirt’s talking about. Can’t speak for all guys but I know the only time I get panties is if they’re given to me. But here’s the real question...” he let this drag on, a finger pointing at the guy as he turned to face her, leaning in just enough for only her to hear. “Do you think he’s wearing it right now?”

Phoenix 

Phoenix couldn't help it, she burst out into laughter, her whole face lighting up, hand trembling with it so her cocktail half ended up on the floor next to her before she managed to put it down. "Oh my God, Matt. That's fucking bad. I don't know. Maybe he is. Maybe it was a red pair to match his shirt," she grinned wickedly, "Oh, oh look..." The guy scratched at his ass and Phee laughed hard again. "Musta been riding up,"

Matt 

As soon as she laughed Matt joined in and it intensified when he glanced and saw what was happening. “Dude’s definitely wearing something. A lacy thong. Red like you said. Maybe with that tiny sweetheart bow on the front.” He’d been too busy laughing to notice the drink spilled and Matt pointed at you, grinning. “I fucking slayed a dragon and seduced a troll for that drink and now it’s just there. There Phee. For shame.”

Phoenix 

Phee laughed and laughed, unable to help herself because fuck, it was funny imagining some beefed up jock in a pretty red thong he'd stolen from his latest conquest. Where the fuck did this guy come up with this shit? "Then..." Phee had to stop because she was breathless from the laughter Still, "Then maybe you should t have made me laugh so much! You're lucky I didn't get any in my dress, or then you would be in for it," she warned with a playful wink and a grin.

Matt 

“Oooooooh would I? What would you have done? Taken it off and told me to get it to the dry cleaners stat. Or had me whisk you away to the closest sink to try to get the red out?” He smirked, going for a beer but remembered he never got another for himself. He was actually real good at removing stubborn stains, something he leaned over the years. “You thinking about keeping here awhile longer because as fun as this party is, I’m kinda in need of a scenery change.”

Phoenix 

Phoenix pointed again at his teasing. "You are such an asshole," she said with a soft laugh. Was he asking her to leave with him? She glanced around, but Katie was still locking lips and Leo was lying on the floor, probably spinning from drinking too much, regardless of his defeat at beer pong. "I'm thinking the same thing. Things are getting a little too... Messy for my liking," she admitted.

Matt 

Matt feigned a shocked expression and laid a hand onto his chest. “That’s Mr. Asshole to you, missy miss.” Not two seconds after saying this his face split into a smile. “Awesome! Let’s do what the trees do and shake a leg.” He stood up and leaned over her, getting close for a few seconds, to pull his jacket off the back of the chair she stole from him. “Thinking a walk around the neighborhood wouldn’t be too bad. Won’t reek of this place that’s for sure.”

Phoenix 

When Matt leaned in, Phee got another word of that natural scent of his and God, was it intoxicating. She wanted to bottle that smell and carry it with her everywhere. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth as he pulled away,swallowing to compose herself and giving a nod of her head. Getting away from the noise and the stench of stale beer sounded like a dream right now. "Sounds good," she said, standing. "Just... Let me check in with Leo." Her brother had made it to his feet but he was clinging to the wall for dear life. She was going to tease him so much tomorrow. She headed towards him with a grin. "Hey big bro, that your new girlfriend?" She asked, coming close and placing a hand on his arm. "Phoenix? Urg. Fuck off." He groaned and looked away from her. She giggled, shaking her head at how very drunk he was. "You gonna be alright? Want me to get Greg to give you a ride home?" She asked and her brother shook his head. Unlike her hair, his was dark in colour but they both had the same eyes. "No, just fuck off," he groaned again and Phee sighed. "Alright. Don't day I didn't try." She dampened her lips. "Me and Matt are gonna go for a walk. I'll see you tomorrow alright? Don't do anything fucking stupid, okay?"

Matt 

Matt didn’t need to move from his place to hear the exchange was between Leo and Phee, but if he wasn’t able to tune in it would have been amusing as hell to only watch the body language and movement of arms. He grinned for a moment and went over to where they stood. “You doing okay there, Le.” He asked, dropping the o in the guy’s name. Only he would shorten an already short name.

Phoenix 

Phee glanced to Matt as he joined them, she rolled her eyes. "He's fine. Just can't handle his beer." She teased and Leo wafted an arm in her direction, "Fuck off Phee." Phoenix laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Right." She laughed and headed towards the house. Before Matt could follow her though, Leo had grabbed hold of his arm, seemingly sobering up for a moment. "Stay away from my sister." He warned, fuzzy eyes trying to meet Matt's.

Matt 

Matt was glad Phoenix wasn't nearby to see this and he knew Leo forgot his place with the grab, what with the massive amounts of alcohol he had to drink to even reach this level of intoxication. His hand went to Leo's and pried it away from him. "Think you're forgetting your place there, pup." He said in a low voice. "Your sister is in good hands. Don't worry about her." He moved away from him and added. "Get yourself cleaned up and help Jamie with the rest of this party. It's getting out of hand." Matt walked towards the house, in the direction Phee went and returned to his usual, good natured self. He didn't like to flex his power like that but he wasn't one who like others to tell him what to do. "You good to go?" He asked, easily finding her at the front near the door just by tracking down that sweet perfume she wore.

Phoenix 

Phee had only realized half way through the house that Matt was missing, she held still by the front door, sending out a mass text to her girls to let them know she was heading out. By the time Matt appeared, Phee was already getting replies but she quickly shoved her cell away in her little silver bag. They could wait until later. "So ready," she said with a sweet smile, tilting her head to the side just so and making hair fall down her shoulders. "You get lost on the way?" She asked with a little laugh as she opened the door and headed back out into the cool night air. Once more, goosebumps rose on her skin, but she didn't mind. She headed towards the sidewalk, her heels clicking on the pavement.

Matt 

“That’s because you didn’t put out a trail of bread crumbs so I had to go through this journey and happened to discover the true meaning of happiness has always been within me.” Matt added, “Wait. Should have spoiler alerted that.” He held the door open and waited for Phee to pass through. “Did you happen to let your friends know you left with one of the hottest guys at that party?” He asked while they walked down to the sidewalk. His jacket draped over his arm, ready to hand it over as soon as she needs it.

Phoenix 

Phee couldn't help but giggle about his explanation of getting lost along the way. It was silly and over the top, but kind of endearing too. Phee glanced over at him, "Not quite, " she replied, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder. "I told them I left with the guy with the biggest ego," she grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Wonder if they guess who I mean..."She mused with a little chuckle. A breeze passes by and Phee felt herself shiver, but honestly she was too stubborn to ask for his jacket.

Matt 

"You think this ego is bad, you should have seen me when I was in my early twenties. It was so massive, Phee. So. Massive. I could hardly fit it through the door at most places." He couldn't help poking fun at this since he knew it was pretty bad. But he was a confident guy and didn't see anything wrong with flaunting it 24/7/365. There was that breeze, one Matt knew was destined to make its way to them as soon as they hit the sidewalk. He saw the shiver but didn't say anything about it. Instead his jacket freed his arm and he stepped behind her and set it around her shoulders without a word. "Do you live with Leo?" He asked as he went back to walking by her side.

Phoenix 

Almost without breaking step, Matt was placing his jacket around her shoulders, enveloping her in his warmth and woody scent and Phee honestly felt a quiver of something wonderful in her stomach. Not that she was about to admit that to this guy. "Unfortunately," Phee said with a soft laugh. "I can't really afford to live alone right now. College is pretty tough money wise," she said with a soft chuckle. "Leo had a spare room and he's barely home anyway, so it just worked out." She shrugged her shoulder slightly, the chain on her bag clinking. "Do you live alone?" She asked curiously. Matt was the one friend of Leo's that she didn't really know much about. Maybe that was because he was new though.

Matt 

"A-ha. College girl. Didn't think you were that young but it's not like I'm a grandpa here." He stuffed one hand into his pocket and looked from her to the houses they passed on either sides. He lived a neighborhood over but it looked somewhat identical to this. Cookie cutter. "I do. When I moved here from Alabama I made sure it was when I could afford my own place. Do you know where the fire station is off of Marinette and Parmer? Right near this spot. I live the street behind it. I actually work there."

Phoenix

Phee scrunched her nose. "I'm not that young,"She protested softly, "I'm 24, doing my Masters Degree if you must know," She said rather indignantly. At that, Phoenix felt her brows rise high. "You're a fire fighter?" She asked with a half laugh, unable to believe it. She'd never met one before, despite living in town all her life. "Woah, that's... Just wow." she said, honestly impressed.

Matt 

"You sure about that? I mean, you've got that whole look kinda young thing happening for you. It's okay to admit you're under twenty one. I won't tattle." Hearing her age actually set him at ease. It was hard to tell how old people were and he didn't want to run into issue if they decided to steer this into something...hotter. "Why do you look surprised by that?" he asked, clearly amused. "Been doing it for about nine years now. Started right out of high school and been doing it since. Used to do those awful twenty-four hours shifts but those stopped about five years ago. Thank God." Right around the time when his life took a drastic and unexpected turn for the wild.

Phoenix 

Phee pouted at his teasing about her age. She knew she looked young, but it had been a while since anyone had said she looked that young. "I swear, I'm twenty four. Leo is twenty six. Two years difference." Again, Phee was surprised to hear how long Matt had been a firefighter. Nine years would make him twenty seven, just a year older than Leo. But way more sensible it seemed. "I know it's a different world completely, but in my work, twenty four hours awake is almost a daily occurrence." She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "I'm a programmer," she revealed a moment later, "I've gone fourty eight hours on energy drinks and cheetos," She admitted with a soft laugh.

Matt 

There was a pout, one Matt deserved and he wanted to tell her to put that away but he knew better than poking fun at a woman’s age. Having a mom and three sisters taught him better than that. “This forty-eight hour stretch. Were you at that point towards the end of it where you felt you were a type of God? Nothing felt normal and you were convinced you absorbed powers from a greater being?” Matt’s been through various mind trips due to exhaustion, shock, smoke inhalation...you name it. “Now you’ve got me wanting Cheetos. Thank you for that.” There was a convenience store walking distance from here and he decided to steer them in that direction. “Want to go and get a midnight snack with me? We can take it back to my place if you’re down for a hang there.”

Phoenix 

Phee laughed as he asked about her state of mind after the fourty eight hours. "Honestly, I don't even remember. I;m usually so exhausted by the end of it, sometimes it's like I wake up and someone else has done my work for me," She admitted with another little laugh. She raised her eyebrows as he asked her if she wanted to head back to his place. That was forward. And as wanton and adventurous as Phee could be, she wasn't quite that drunk yet. "You haven't even asked for my number and you're asking me back to your place? That isn't exactly gentlemanly. I expected more of you, Matt. I'm disappointed," She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, a hint of a smile curling her lips. "I'm a lady, y'know? I expect a little more than Cheeto's before I go to a guys house."

Matt 

“Oh. Well, my apologies, m’lady.” He bowed and tried not to smile but this was a change. Most people he brought back didn’t even bother with the number exchange. “Does it help I ate least know your last name? And that I’m not just buying Cheetos but slushees, too.” Matt started the walk again and had to laugh at this. “But, hey. Glad you jump to the idea of us fucking when we go to my house and not just playing a video game or watching Queer Eye.”

Phoenix 

Phee had to hold back another giggle as he bowed. He was an ass, but a pretty damn cute ass. She rolled her eyes at the offer of slushees too. "Well in that case... No." She replied with a grin, "And I never assumed we'd be... Y'know..." Her face flashed red almost as bright as her hair, "I just don't go to guys houses without knowing them first. My Daddy taught me better than that."

Matt 

“Fair enough,” he said not at all bothered by her turning down the invite. “I’ll still get the snacks though. Consider it me wanting to see you on a sugar high.” The bright light from the corner shop loomed ahead. “How does your daddy feel about someone you don’t know walking you home?”

Phoenix 

Phee smiled at the fact he still wanted to get snacks, "Stick around long enough and you will," she teased with a soft smile, glancing down as they walked. She was so glad she'd wore her comfortable silver heels tonight. Walking all this distance in anything else would have been agony. She wasn't really used to heels at all. "Hm, considering Daddy doesn't live with us, I don't think hed ever know," She said with a coy smile. "Leo though? That's another story. He doesn't like me knowing, but he's pretty protective of me," she said with a small laugh, looking back to Matt as they reached the store, purposefully waiting for him to open the door.

Matt 

“Well, alright then. Not that it makes much a difference with me know where you live since I’ve been to Leo’s before.” He said with a playful teasing tone. “But I’ll pretend I’ve never been. Even awe at the sight of the house as if it’s the first time.” Matt tugged the glass door open and waited for her to go through before following. “Yeah, Leo can get that way but I understand. I’ve got three sisters of my own. One just started college.”

Phoenix 

Phoenix was surprised to hear that Matt had been to her and Leo's place before. Leo had never mentioned it to her which was honestly a little odd. She shrugged it off and headed into the store, wandering slowly down the first aisle. "Yeah?" She hummed and picked up a packet of candy from the shelf, inspecting the back, "What's she studying?" Phee asked with a smile, glancing up to see if he'd waited for her to keep moving.

Matt 

He stayed at the foot of the aisle and looked at the jerky selection. He liked this place because they made their own jerky and it tasted leagues better than the packaged crap. “Fashion design I think. I’m sure there’s an actual name to it but that’s how I remember it.” He used tongs to get a few thick strips and then joined her in the aisle. “What you got there?”

Phoenix 

Phee hummed and nodded her head. Fashion design was interesting and creative but not exactly her thing. She showed him the packet of nerds she was holding with a small smile. "I know they're awful for you, but they're my favorite." She said with a laugh. "I always check the back though, you never know if they’re going to add a couple hundred more e numbers." She started to walk towards the end of the aisle. "What did you pick up?" She asked, eyeing his hands.

Matt 

“I have to say, you’re the first person I’ve met they actually likes that candy. Not ripping on you but now I want to call you Nerd Girl.” Matt showed her his jerky and then went to pluck a couple Cheeto bags. “Gotta our drinks, still feeling a cherry slurpee for myself, and then we can boot, scoot, and boogie.”

Phoenix 

"Whaaat?" She extended the word with a laugh."Who the fuck doesn't like candy? They lying." She shook her head and headed down the next aisle, back towards the counter. "I could go for a cheery Slurpee, it'll go well with my candy," She grinned and dampened her lips softly. "Boot, scoot and boogie?" She asked with squirmed brow, "What time zone are you from exactly?"

Matt 

“Hey now. I told you I wasn’t knocking on it. Just don’t usually see Nerds unless it’s when I’m giving candy out for trick or treaters.” He laughed and her reaction to it and went to tug a couple cups from the walls. Matt set the clear dome lids on both and poured the slurpees into each. “I’m offended by you picking fun at my lingo. Got me weeping on the inside here, Phee.” He handed her one with a red straw. “I’m from this time. I just like to use random shit to describe things. Keeps everyone on their toes.”

Phoenix 

Phee accepted the drink and took a slow sip, even with Matt's jacket still hung on her shoulders, her arms rose in goosebumps. "Keeps everyone confused more like," she said with a laugh as they got the counter,placing down her items and glancing to Matt with a sly grin. "My gentleman friend here will be paying," she informed the clerk.

Matt 

He handed over his debit card, which had a picture of Bugs Bunny on it. Matt opted for a bag for them to carry everything in and as they walked out he looked at her with such a grin. “Gentleman, huh? And here I was thinking you viewed me as some type of scoundrel.” Matt opened the door for her to go through, loving how she looks in his jacket.

Phoenix 

Phee did notice the picture on his card, but she didn't mention it - yet. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, but the movement was pretty well hidden by his jacket on her shoulders. "I'm not sure what to make of you yet, Mr... Oh!" She laughed, "What's your surname?" She asked with another giggle, now moving to slide her arms into the arms of his jacket, the cold settling in once more.

Matt 

“I made it a point to say I know your last name but you didn’t think to ask me mine. Now who’s the one not being a gentleman?” Matt have her a light-hearted smirk at that and said, “Davidson. Matthew John Davidson. But I get called Matt. Matty by my sisters.” He shared before sucking through his straw. “Want some of my jerky? I got the mild type.”

Phoenix 

Phee pouted softly, her full bottom lip poking out. "I'm a Lady," she pointed out a moment later, "Usually others tell us those details, friends and mothers and brothers," she said with a soft laugh. "Matty is cute," she said with a soft smile. She could see him being so gentle with his sister's, so protective the way Leo was with her and it was so damn endearing. "Thanks but no," She said while shaking her box of nerds, "Jerky and Candy don't quite mix well," She poured some of her sweets out into her hand and then transferred them to her mouth but not before giving Matt another grin.

Matt 

Jesus Christ that pout. He didn’t even really do anything to deserve it but it made him want to lean in and kiss it away. “Fine, fine. Leo should have said something about me but looks like he’s just being awful when it comes to talking about the new guy. Or he doesn’t want you messing with the likes of me.” Matt let the weight of that linger before laughing. “The world may never know.” “You would think that’s cute. It totally takes away from my badass look I’m aiming for whenever that name is dropped. Can take a Matty serious.” He knew that whatever name he was given he continued as the same, carrying the same weight as before. “So you’re going to smell sweet and I’ll be meaty.” He said as he bite a hunk out of the jerky. That alcohol did very little to get him drunk but it still swirled around in his stomach in the most unenjoyable way. “How long you’ve been messing with computers?”

Phoenix 

Phee was so going to quiz Leo about Matt when he got home. She had to wonder for a second if it was true that her brother had never spoken about him for a good reason. But that wasn't like Leo. She let it go for now along with the idea that you couldn't take a Matty serious because to her,that wasn't such a bad thing at all. Phee grimaced as he bit into the jerky, looking away. She hated Jerky honestly, dried meat? No thanks. But thankfully Matt asked her about something she was passionate about next. "Um... My whole life?" She said with a laugh, "I got my first computer at 12 I think and I've been programming pretty much every since then." She glanced to him with a smile. "You always been a fire bug?"

Matt 

He ripped some of the jerky off and ate it bit by bit as she talked about computers. “Was your first computer one of those brand new ones at the time or did you go with one of those ancient machines like Packard Bell?” He wrapped the rest of his meat into the white packaging and tucked it into his back pocket before focusing on his drink. “You bet your hot ass I always been. Ever since I was a kid. My parents said I went everywhere in my little firefighter uniform. Had a truck, too. It always spoke to me.”

Phoenix 

Phee chuckled at his comment about the computer she had. "It was a HP one, fully installed with the brand new windows XP. I still miss that OS." She grinned thinking about it and then even more as Matt told her about his childhood. It made her laugh, and she nodded her head. "Did you ever set a fire just so you could put it out?"

Matt 

“That was one of the best operating systems. Though I can’t remember which one was before that, back in the floppy disc days and when everyone wanted those After Dark screen savers. That was all when I was too young but my parents talked about it and how that was awesome technology at the time.” He stopped sucking on his straw and looked at her with an amused fire. “My dad did for me. He made sure it was in a controlled area and it was when I was about twelve. Nothing compared to the first real fire I put out during training. But there was still that stomach-flipping excitement.” He brought his drink to his side as they went to the other side of the neighborhood towards where she and Leo live. “Do you do any hacking like they show in the movies?”

Phoenix 

Phee laughed at the throw back to the early 90's computing. How easy things were back then. Back then there were maybe three or four programming languages, now there were hundreds. You tell someone your a programmer and their first question is usually 'What language?'. Still, she enjoyed it and when her grin had died down, she took a sip of her drink and carefully started to open her candy. Phee liked listening to Matt's story, finding it interesting that not only had his Dad helped him with a fire, but that he'd known what his dream job was his whole life. "You're braver than most people, I tell you," She said softly, shaking her head. "Or more stupid. But either way, you do something not a lot of people could." She found that quite endearing, actually. "Hmmm... hacking isn't exactly how they show it in the movies. And... sometimes it isn't half as illegal as they make it out to be in movies," She chuckled, "You know company's actually hire hackers to try and break into their websites and systems so they can fix any issues before someone bad gets to it? And honestly, it takes.... days, to hack into something these days. Not the quick two lines of code you often see on TV," She explained with a soft laugh.

Matt 

“I just don’t think too much about it. I like to help people when they need it the most. My mom isn’t thrilled I’m a first responder and wished I went into law, like my dad, but that makes me want to drill a hole between my eyes.” Though if he had gone with that office job he would have never encountered a call which changed the course of his life. Her and Leo’s house was just down the street now but Matt didn’t hurry his pace. “Damn. I was about to ask if I can watch you hurriedly hack into some high secure area to try to bring a doll to life ala Weird Science.” Matt bumped her with his hip after he said this. “A buddy of mine mentioned people who are paid to do that. White hat?”

Phoenix 

Phee couldn't see Matt in an office either. He had too much energy, too many comments that were a little risque. She liked that though. Her familiar street came into view and Phee was kind of disappointed she was almost home. She chuckled at the reference to weird science. "Shame. I'd need a good day to hack into anything interesting," She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Yeah. Thats what they get called online. Or sometimes 'Ethical Hackers',"She chuckled softly, shaking her  head. "I'd rather build something myself than spend time breaking into someone else's shit to be honest,"

Matt 

“Something about Ethical Hacker kind of takes the mystery away from it. I mean, if you tell people you’re a White Hat they’ll think it’s some nick name for some type of espionage thing your a part of. Matt looked up to the sky, the clouds finally parted and he could see the sliver of the moon. It was a nice night. Cool, too. Which meant a lot of these Heat was on its way out. “Think Leo’s made it back?” He better not because it meant he didn’t stick to doing what he was told.”

Phoenix

"True," She conceded with a sigh. White Hat did sound way cooler, her house with just a few doors down now, and she was almost dreading leaving. "I dunno," She said softly in reference to her brother, "He's out most nights, honestly." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll give him a call if he's not home when I get inside. Make sure he's with someone and got a ride home..." She chuckled softly, "I guess I can be pretty protective of him too,"

Matt 

“That’s good. You’ve got each other’s backs.” Matt wondered just how much of Leo’s life she knew about. He had to keep a good portion of it away from his own family, which he hated but it needed to keep that way. Matt opened the gate which went up a walkway. “How much school do you have left?” He thought about taking Emergency Management classes but that could be done online.

Phoenix 

Phee stepped into the space where the gate had been, heading up the walk way. Her garden was coming along nicely, and she was hit with the scent of her flowers. Even in the middle of the night, she could smell them. Things weren't as pretty as she wanted, nor as useful, but given she'd not long started, she wasn't doing so bad. "I have my last exams in December," She told him with a half smile, "Then I'll be Phoenix Williams, MA." She grinned, quite looking forwards to having the title. She reached her front door and realized she still had Matt's jacket on. "Oh," She shrugged her arms out of it, sliding it off but almost immediately missig it's warmth. "Here," She said holding it back towardsh him.

Matt 

Matt didn’t take his jacket back, instead motioning to the steps. “We don’t have to call it a night, yet. I kind of want to sit here a bit, take in the smell of the flowers. Which is a nice addition to this place, by the way. But I’ll admit I’m not ready to stop talking to you. Make fun of me if you want but I had a better time getting to know you than the whole time I was at the party.”

Phoenix 

"Oh," Phee wasn't exactly opposed to the idea, she was just concerned what Leo might think should he arrive home and find her chatting away to one of his friends. But then again, Leo wasn't the boss of her, she was a grown ass woman, right? Maybe. She still liked her brothers approval, as much as she pretended she didn't. "Um, Sure," She said with a smile, taking a seat on the top step and carefully draping Matt's jacket over her knees to protect them from the wind in the air. "How did you meet Leo?" She asked curiously after a beat, realizing how very little she knew about not only Matt, but her brother.

Matt 

Matt settled on the next step down and leaned his back against the railing. “God...” he said as he thought about this. He knew exactly how they met but the story was one which needed some tweaking. “I’d been here a couple of weeks and was hanging at the bar. Some fight broke out and I got in to break it apart.” That part was true but the fight carried over to the back alley and it went from bad to worse real fast. “It’s how I met a few of the other guys, too.”

Phoenix 

Phee listened to the story, taking a slow sip of her drink and pouring a couple nerds into her hand to eat. "And which side was Leo on? Yours or the bag guys?" She asked with a soft grin.

Matt 

He didn’t expect this question and had to give Phee this look, “Damn, over here asking if your brother was on the bad guy’s side.” This amused him so fucking much. “On the good side. Turned out some guys that were banned from the bar showed up and they wouldn’t leave.”

Phoenix 

Phoenix gave a shrug of her shoulders. Her brother was generally a good guy, but she knew he had a tendency to get mixed up in bad shit, usually by accident. Phee smiled softly, nodding her head at the rest of the story. "I'm glad he was on the good side and not one of the banned people," she said with a smile, popping another candy into her mouth. "I worry about him sometimes," She admitted, "He can be a bit of an ass, but he's my ass, yknow?" She said softly with a laugh.

Matt 

Matt felt pretty mellow now and he knew it was because he could chill for a bit before heading home. He took that moment to look at Phoenix and the way her expression softened while she spoke about Leo. “He’s a tough guy, that I’ve seen. But he’s also someone that knows how to use his head.” Matt chuckled as his hand went through his hair. “Seeing the way you are with him makes me homesick.”

Phoenix 

Phee wasn't so sure about Leo knowing how to use his head, he did some pretty dumb shit, like getting so drunk tonight. She took a sip of her drink again, closing her eyes and then placing it on the step next to her. "Does your family love far away?" She asked as she flickered open her eyes, a nice way of finding out where Matt's home town was.

Matt 

“They’re a good seven hour car ride away. I used to live on the same block as them for a few years before I packed up the ol’ jalopy and made my way out west.” He sighed. The move was necessary. It was a way he knew he couldn’t put them in danger. “We talk and shit everyday. So, there’s that but not seeing each other a good few times a week was a huge adjustment.” Matts fingers pinched the red straw and he moved it around to mix the last of his drink. “What about you? Is it just you and Le here?”

Phoenix 

Phee was surprised to hear how far away Matt's family where. She and Leo had always been home birds. When he'd moved away for college, Phee had missed him like crazy and as soon as he could, he'd moved back home. She knew how hard it was being away from family and felt sorry for Matt, being here on his own. She popped the last few candy pieces into her mouth and shook her head. "Our Mom lives about three blocks that way," she pointed, "Dad died about five years ago." She felt that pang of hurt in her chest that always rose its head whenever she spoke about her Dad. She missed him like crazy, the way he made her feel safe and loved just by being in the same room as her. "He had a heart attack. One minute he was there, the next just... Gone." She breathed and had to bite her bottom lip for a moment to compose herself. "I go see my mom as often as I can. But she texts me like, ten times a day." She said with a chuckle.

Matt 

“Oh, hey. That’s awesome. Tell me that means you get to go over whenever you want and raid the fridge or she takes care of dinner or your laundry. Not because you asked but because she wants to do it.” It was when she mentioned her dad that Matt’s features softened and his hand went to her knee. “I’m sorry, Phee.” His hand squeezed her knee slightly. “Was it a heart attack?” His dad had one last year and it was hard trying to be there during certain times but he managed to make it work. Matt brought his phone out and opened WhatsApp. “My mom likes to spam me with everything she finds online.” He leaned back against the railing and smiled some. “I’m glad to know your close with you mom. Don’t come across too many people who are or feel they have to hide it.”

Phoenix 

Phee nodded her head, she was forever at her Mom's place, making herself at home, cooking and drinking and taking her things to do to keep her busy. "It was," she answered about the heart attack, the feel of the gentle squeeze to her leg enough to soothe the ache in her chest. Not many things did that for her. "Why would anyone hide it?" She asked curiously. "Honestly, my mom is my best friend, sad as that sounds. I mean, I have the girls but no one quite gets me like she does," she said with a soft smile, sipping the last of her drink slowly. "I should get going," She said with a soft sigh. "Find out where Leo is. Make sure he's got a ride home," she said with a soft smile.

Matt 

He and his family were lucky. It took his dad time to bounce back, which he was completely, but he was still there. Still making his comments and expressing how he felt his son would have been a great asset to the law firm. But Matt didn't voice any of this. "People get weird about showing how much they dig their family. You'd think you were about to accuse them of being incesty." Matt shrugged and watched her expression about calling it a night. Matt knew Leo tend to stay out late some nights and if he had a feeling Matt was out with his sister then he could very well be watching them from a distance. Except Matt couldn't smell him. "That sounds like a good idea. He could have fallen asleep in someone's bushes on the way back home." Matt grabbed their cups and stashed them in the plastic bag. The unopened Cheetos were still in there and he handed them to her. "For your next all nighter."

Phoenix 

Phee imagined falling asleep in the bushes was exactly something Leo would do and she was surprised it hadn't happened before. Or maybe it had but she had yet to hear of it. Either way, she needed to call her brother. She was surprised when the Cheetos were placed on her lap, giving him a soft smile. "Oh. Um. Thank you," her cheeks blushed nearly as red as her hair, the small gift making her stomach twist. She carefully lifted his jacket off her knees, handing it over to him and starting to stand. "Want me to put those in the trash?" She asked, eyeing the plastic bag.

Matt 

It might have been dark on this step but Matt knew a blush when he saw one. He would have teased her about it but he decided to be good and smirked instead. "No problem. Just think of me when you eat them." That was when he tossed a wink in her direction and took the jacket from her. "Sure. Saves me from lugging this until I find a dumpster." Matt slid his jacket on and dragged a hand through his wind tussled hair. "We should keep talking. Tonight was good and it felt easy shooting the shit with you. We can exchange numbers."

Phoenix 

The wink made Phee feel like blushing even more, maybe she did a little, it was hard to tell since her face was already so warm.  God, he was handsome when he brushed a hand through his hair. She pushed the bag of Cheetos under her arm,the plastic bag going to the floor for a moment while she held her hand out to him. "Give me your cell then," She said with a soft, playful grin, clasping her hand and unclasping like a child who wanted a toy, hoping it would confirm to him that she'd agreed it had been fun chatting.

Matt 

"This makes me feel like I'm at a bar," he joked as his phone fished out of his jacket pocket and Matt unlocked it. There was a picture of him dressed up like the 80s version of Teen Wolf as his background, a running joke with he and his friends. "You should take a pic of you so I can place it as the contact one." He added after it was handed to her.

Phoenix 

Phee noted the image in the background. It said a lot about the guy - that he was fun and willing to participate and not afraid of making a fool of himself. She keyed in her number, "You want a photo of me already?" She asked with a soft laugh, quickly brushing her fingers through her hair to smooth it out before switching on his camera. "Just don't watch me okay? I'll laugh if you do," she warned and switching the camera to front facing, she blinked at her image on screen, angling the camera just so and smiling ever so slightly before clicking the button to take the photo. "Here," she said, handing the phone back.

Matt 

He was gonna say something to that but Phee was already posing and he made it a point to turn around completely so she could take the picture in peace. When it was done Matt turned around and looked at the picture. "I like it. Maybe I'll put on one of those filters and give you bunny ears." He grinned as his fingers tapped a few places on the screen and saved everything. "I'll text you in a couple days. Might be a meme. Might be me saying hey. You never know." He took a step down the step, moving backwards. "Until we meet again, Phee." Matt bowed at the waist and looked up with a playful smile. "You have a good night."

Phoenix

Phee found his playful antics cute and endearing. "Bye Matt," she replied, giving him a little wave before turning her back when he reached the bottom of the steps and heading into her home. Inside, she rested her back against the door and gave a happy sigh before kicking off her heels and tugging her dress off over her head. Now she just had to find out where her pesky brother was.