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atravellerstale-meg · 4 years

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Could you possibly do a JeremyxTrevor story? Like within the GTA V FAHC, whrer they've been secretly dating, but then someone catches them, so they have to explain. It's okay if not!

@ah-giggles - sorry about the delay! This prompt got a bit out of hand, but was a ton of fun to write. I hope you like it!

Jeremy was sat in the penthouse, cleaning his guns. Most of the rest of the crew was out working on some upcoming job and he was trying to burn off the nervous energy as best he could, but he was nevertheless caught off guard when someone dropped down on the couch next to him. He looked over to find Gavin staring at him.

Now, it wasn’t that Jeremy didn’t like Gavin. In fact, before joining the crew, he could honestly say he had looked up to the guy. But after joining the veneer of the Golden Boy had fallen away and taken Jeremy’s admiration with it. And as he’d struggled to get used to the difference between Gavin’s persona and Gavin himself, he’d apparently caught the eye of the man in question, who’d started following Jeremy about and asking him odd questions and pestering him at all hours of the day and being way too cuddly for Jeremy’s liking. It hadn’t taken long for Jeremy’s shock to turn into a kind of playful mock-hatred.

So he sighed and resigned himself to another round of ‘what ifs’. After a moment, when nothing came, he raised an eyebrow at Gavin, quickly growing concerned when he saw the serious look on his face. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Instead of answering directly, Gavin tilted his head and asked, “Do you know what my role in the crew is?“

“Resident pain in the ass?”

“I’m the hacker.” He paused, shrugged, and corrected himself, “Well, one of two now. But this means I’m in charge of crew security. The cameras around the penthouse, background checks on new members,” he waved his hand, “it all goes through me.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

Gavin gave a half-smile. “You know Lindsay?”

“Yes?” Jeremy said, feeling more lost than ever.

“Well, when she first showed up, she was helping Michael betray the crew. Geoff got shot in the back of the head and almost died, Ryan had to face down the entire police force and almost died, I was in a tank and… All in all, it was a mess.”

“Oh.”

“And so there’s kind of been this unofficial rule that we have to make everyone aware of any and all relationships.”

“…Oh.”

“And you and Trevor aren’t as slick as you like to think you are.”

Jeremy looked down at the gun in his hand, slotting the pieces back into place as his mind raced. Eventually he asked, “Am I in trouble?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Oh.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gavin shift, crossing one leg over the other. “Were you ever going to tell us?”

“At some point.”

“And why didn’t it come up sooner?”

“Because… I didn’t think it was important?”

There was a moment of silence before Gavin spoke again, voice uncharacteristically frosty, “Jeremy, when you joined the crew, you told us about Matt. Everything I can find suggests that you already knew Alfredo and Trevor back then too, but you only told us about Matt, and we hired him. We then hired Trevor under different circumstances - again, you didn’t tell us about him - and he quickly rose through the ranks and became the boss. And one of the first things he did was hire Alfredo. The four of you were pretty much a crew in your own right, and without telling the rest of us about your relationships to each other, you infiltrated our crew. I’m giving you one chance to explain how this isn’t an attempted takeover.”

“Well, when you phrase it like that, it sounds really bad.” He placed the gun back on the table. “I honestly just didn’t think of it.”

“Really?” Gavin’s voice dripped with disbelief.

“Really! Trevor and I were kind in the middle of a tiff when I joined the crew, and I was scared of rocking the boat with you guys, and I-” Jeremy cut himself off, anxiety sending his heart rate through the roof, and took a moment to try and calm himself.

“I know I messed up,” he said a moment later, keeping his voice even and his head down, afraid to meet Gavin’s eyes. “I was just so excited to be a part of your crew and didn’t want to mention the others because I was afraid you’d see me as a traitor or something.”

“Still not convinced you aren’t.”

“I- I didn’t want to mention anything, but Trevor didn’t like that and we kinda didn’t talk for a while, and then you guys asked if I knew anyone else good for the crew and things weren’t great with Trevor so I just mentioned Matt, and then he went behind my back and got hired anyway and that didn’t make things any better, and then when we finally patched things up we’d been in the crew for long enough that it felt awkward to say ‘hey, I actually know this person, we’re totally fucking, sorry we pretended to be strangers for about a month’!” Jeremy sighed, wringing his hands. “So… yeah. That’s the truth.”

Gavin drummed his fingers on his knee, watching Jeremy closely, before jumping to his feet and giving a cheery, “Okay!”

“Okay?”

“Yep! I believe you. And I don’t think you’ve got any ulterior motives. So we’re good.” He tilted his head. “But if I find out you’ve lied, I’m gonna sic the Vagabond on you. Battle Buddies or no, I don’t think he’d be too happy to find out someone was conspiring against him again.“ And then Gavin grinned, all teeth, and walked away, firing one last comment over his shoulder, "You better come clean with everyone else!”

Jeremy dropped his head down on the back of the sofa, cursing his own past stupidity and balking at the thought of having to go over that conversation again with every other member of the crew.

That evening, he made his way to Trevor’s room to have a conversation with him about everything. As he was let in he felt himself relax a bit. The far too tidy room with glow in the dark stars painted on the ceiling was as familiar to him as his own, and the sight of Trevor’s smiling face, always so happy to see him, settled something within him.

“What’s up, baby boy?” Trevor asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You’ve got your serious face on.”

Jeremy cracked a smile, sitting beside him. “My serious face?”

“Mhmm. Last time I saw that was, ooo, five years ago? When you came over to tell me that you’d been doing criminal activities,” Trevor said, wiggling his fingers to try and keep the mood light. “Ah, now that was a fun night!”

Jeremy nodded, a pang of nostalgia shooting through his chest as he remembered the conversation. Sitting beside Trevor on a battered couch instead of a neatly made bed, the strange, cautious look he’d gotten when Jeremy confessed to having done something bad, the ‘Where’s the body?’ he’d said in response in a tone just shy of joking. The nerves rushing through Jeremy’s veins as he told Trevor about his thieving, unsure if this would be the end of their relationship, if he’d leave that apartment with the police on his heels. But the thing he remembered most about that night was him and Trevor exchanging their first ‘I love you’s.

Bolstered by that thought, he entwined his fingers with Trevor’s and said, “I had a pretty intense conversation with Gavin today.”

Trevor sat silently as he told the whole story, nodding here and there and rubbing a gentle thumb over the back of his hand. Before long Jeremy had finished, rounding it off with, “And… I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Don’t worry,” Trevor said, smiling, “I’ll sort this all out.”

It was just a few simple words, but it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from Jeremy’s shoulders. He slumped, a genuine smile reaching his face as he said, “Thanks, Treycs.”

Trevor’s tone shifted to something more playful. “Now, do you want any help with all that tension you’ve been carrying around?”

Jeremy’s smile became a grin as he let himself be pulled down onto the bed. He could worry about everything else tomorrow.

–

The next day he was preparing to go on a stakeout with Ryan when Trevor pulled him aside and said, “I’ll handle telling all this lot. I figure Ryan should hear it from you, so take all the time you need out there.”

Jeremy nodded. “Okay, will do.”

Trevor smiled and tossed a quick look over his shoulder, then ducked down to press a kiss to the top of his head before putting his cowboy hat on. “Keep safe.”

“No promises.” Jeremy stole another kiss for good luck and left.

A while later he was sat in the car beside Ryan, working up the courage to confess. However, before he could do so, he found himself once again being confronted.

“Gavin told me about you and Trevor,” was the start of the conversation, sending a chill down Jeremy’s spine.

“Did he?”

“Told me to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh.”

Ryan had his mask on, so it was impossible to tell what his expression was, but his eyes were cold when he looked at Jeremy.

“You want to tell me why I learned about this from Gavin?”

“I… was going to tell you today?”

“How long have you been dating?” he asked in a tone that suggested he already knew, and wasn’t happy with the answer.

Nevertheless, Jeremy said, “Since college.”

“Again, why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Jeremy looked down at his hands, unable to find the words to make this better. Ryan didn’t say anything either, and as the seconds ticked by he felt his heart sink further and further and his stomach twist tighter and tighter. Eventually he forced himself to speak, hoping that he could explain himself well enough to save their friendship, and hopefully not end up with a knife between his ribs.

“Look, I… know I fucked up. I already got an earful from Gavin about crew safety, I just didn’t think it really applied-”

“You think I give a shit about crew safety?”

He blinked and looked up at Ryan, who was definitely glaring at him now. “Uh, I would hope so?”

Ryan snorted, turning to look out the window. After a moment he said softly, “I’m upset because I thought we were friends.”

“Oh.” He paused. “I’m sorry?”

Once again, Ryan didn’t say anything. This time Jeremy didn’t break the silence, turning instead to focus on their actual mission. It was only later, when Ryan reached for the ignition so he could drive them back to the penthouse, that Jeremy said, “I really am sorry.”

“Oh, are you?”

“I didn’t think about how it might upset you. I’m sorry.”

Ryan sighed, taking off his mask to run a hand through his hair. He sat in his chair, head turned away, and Jeremy realised just how tired his friend looked. Eventually, Ryan looked up with a lopsided smile and said, “Okay. Anything else I should know?”

Jeremy shook his head, returning Ryan’s smile as best he could. “I really am sorry.”

Ryan nodded and reached out to pat his shoulder. “I forgive you.”

“Battle Buddies?”

“Battle Buddies.”

Jeremy grinned, relaxing in his seat and making a mental note to get Ryan a few tons of Diet Coke to make up for everything.

–

When they got back to the penthouse, Jeremy’s anxiety had returned. Maybe Ryan noticed, because he kept a hand resting on Jeremy’s back as he opened the door. They stepped inside, Jeremy bracing himself.

But nothing happened. Trevor and Alfredo were sat on the couch, trying to sing a song that Jeremy couldn’t recognise, especially since they kept collapsing into giggles. Michael and Lindsay were in the kitchen, the latter stirring what looked like cake batter and the former sneaking bits of it every chance he got. Fiona had taken up the other couch, headphones on as she sharpened a knife. Matt was lying on the floor, watching some kind of video on his phone. Geoff, Gavin, and Jack were nowhere to be seen.

Trevor looked over as the door closed, a bright smile on his face. “Hey guys!” he called, clambering over the back of the couch. “How’d the mission go?”

“Went well,” Ryan answered, hefting a camera. “Got some footage for you guys to look over.”

“Wonderful.” Trevor drew close and threw an arm over Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy tensed, eyes darting around the room, but no one seemed to care. “Give it to Gavvy, I don’t think he’s doing much right now.”

“Will do.”

Ryan nodded and left and Jeremy turned to Trevor, stomach still rolling. “So… did it go okay?”

“Yep!” Trevor said, giving Jeremy’s arm a quick squeeze. “Michael was quite upset because he lost a bet with Jack about when we’d get together, but other than that everyone was fine.”

“Oh.” He allowed himself a small smile. “Good.”

“And that means I now get to do this,” Trevor leant in to press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth, “whenever I want.”

His smile grew. “Whenever you want?”

Trevor grinned and started to lean in again, but was cut off by Matt’s groan. “Can you not do that in the main room? I’m way too ace to deal with you two.”

Jeremy blushed as all eyes turned on them. “Sorry, Matt.”

Trevor dropped his hand to grab Jeremy’s wrist, tugging him back towards the door. “Yeah, we’ll just get out of your hair. No one’s going to need us for the next hour or so, right?”

“I guess we’ll just have all the cake without you, then!” Lindsay said with a wicked grin.

Trevor hesitated. “Text us when the cake’s done.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Jeremy looked around the room, noticing Fiona rolling her eyes along with Michael, Alfredo beaming away, and Matt taking a moment to give Jeremy a reassuring smile and a thumbs up before returning to his phone, and felt his own smile return as he realised that everyone really was okay with them. Everything was going to be fine.

#Treremy #fahc au #prompt fill #snippet time #my writing #misc #is treremy the ship name?#this ship was a ton of fun to write about!#i hope you like it #<3 #ryan /

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vagrantblvrd · 5 years

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That bit in the Get Fried! - Left 4 Dead: All Gus August video where Jeremy mentions he almost went to school in Savannah?

Just like.

So many Jeremwood AU possibilities?

The adorable romcom where Jeremy’s a bright-eyed bushy-tailed art student who meets Ryan there?

Ryan’s like. Look, idk a newly minted professor or TA. Maybe just a forever student. Maybe IT. Something, I don’t know because it’s been forever since I slept, but!

He and Jeremy meet and there are all these Feelings and Pining.

Ryan’s a newly minted professor/TA or something, or maybe a forever student or an IT guy and there’s adorable fail-flirting and their friends giving them endless grief about everything?

OR.

Jeremy going back to college after having to pick up a job right after graduating from high school or there was a family emergency and life got derailed for a few years, but now!

Now everything’s more or less back on track and he’s got some money saved/his parents pitching in to help/a scholarship or grants or whatever and all that.

He’s a little nervous about being older than most of the freshmen there but totally up for bettering himself and all that.

And he meets Ryan who is one of the above options mentioned for him in this romcom scenario only there’s less of a power imbalance between them – Ryan’s not his professor/TA in either scenario (or maybe he is??? Reader’s choice I guess) and anyway, they’re smart enough not to get themselves in trouble.

Just you know.

The Pining.

Awkward flirting that is adorable as hell until someone interrupts or they realize how inappropriate it all is and scurry away/make awkward excuses and then scurry away.

More Pining until the end of the term or one of them graduates and then it’s like.

“So, hey. Would you like to get coffee sometime?”

Whoever is asking is freaking out wondering if they’ve read the signs wrong and oh God, how embarrassing??? And the other one falls all over themselves (literally or figuratively) saying yes and anyway, just all kinds of adorable shenanigans and like. Cuteness overload with occasional bouts of Drama. (The whole thinking the other one id dating someone else and the :((((((((((((( heartbreak only to realize it’s one of their BFFs or something.)

Also, also, maybe Jeremy decides to try out for the college gymnastics team or wrestling and Ryan is like OH NO because muscles and flexibility and he’s a dirty old man at the ripe old age of *mumbledysomething* while his friends despair of his idiocy so much. (SO MUCH.)

Because you know Jeremy invites Ryan to one of his meets or competitions or whatever for moral support, hahaha, like Jeremy doesn’t have his own tiny, super enthusiastic cheering section.

And Michael, who side-eyes Ryan so fucking hard just to see him squirm. (Jeremy will not shut the fuck up about the guy, and it gets a million times worse when the idiot’s drunk and omg, Jeremy, omg, just fucking man up and ask him on a date. Or bone him, whichever.)

OR.

The Battle Buddies/agency AU/FAHC AU where they were both students there at the same time (Plot Reasons) and they have this drunken one-night stand they both kind of forget about? (But not really?)

Jeremy young and stupid and there’s this hot guy at a party with his stupid floppy hair and he’s had enough to drink to make ill-advised decisions that (probably) won’t haunt him years into the future in unforseen ways?

And Ryan, it’s the one (1) time he gives in and lets his buddies get him (somewhat) drunk to the point he will also make those same sort of ill-advised decisions.

And look, okay, look. There’s this guy there with his hair dyed some ridiculous anime color and this smile and this laugh and Ryan’s.

He’s not drunk, just kind of stressed because exams just ended and he’s always been the Good Kid and college is supposed to be where he has this kind of fun, right? Not hurting anyone and figuring himself out and is the guy checking him out? (Oh God, the guy is totally checking him out.)

And then you know, one-night stand where they have a nice time and everyone’s happy, but clearly this was an ill-advised choice and anyway, anyway.

Ryan gets caught up in shenanigans that end up with him joining up with the Battle Buddies agency/life of crime and he doesn’t really have the luxury to pursuing anything of a ~romantic nature with the hot guy from the party. (Didn’t even really catch his name, so there’s that to consider too. Also, it would put him at risk and hell, the guy probably doesn’t even remember him.)

But, you know. There’s something oddly familiar about Jeremy when they meet (Jeremy has the same feeling?) But it’s been years since that night and Ryan’s taken to wearing his hair short/in a ponytail and the whole Vagabond deal, and Jeremy’s taken to shaving his head. (Also being drunk-ish at the time helps in the not recognizing one another thing for Plot Reasons.)

And like.

All this Pining between them not realizing they’re that memorable one-night stand from college/the one that got away shenanigans until they get a mission in Savannah and Jeremy mentions he went to school there and everything comes flooding back and they’re like, OH SHIT because they never forgot that night and all that.

MORE ridiculous Pining only with ~Memories to back it up and everyone around them stuffing popcorn in their faces waiting for these idiots to get their shit together because it’s been a long time coming.

OR.

The Battle Buddies AU/agency AU/FAHC AU where they end up in Savannah because a target’s connected to the university or whatever?

While they’re setting up surveillance gear or doing reconnaissance Jeremy’s like, “Oh, hey. Did you know I almost went here? Even did a campus tour.”

Ryan, who’s doing some troubleshooting with their tech/driving/whatever and listening with half an ear is like “Oh yeah? Talk about a coincidence, huh?”

And Jeremy, okay. He thinks Ryan just means it’s a coincidence they have a mission that brought them back here, but no.

Not really.

Because once upon a time Ryan was a student here or something, but maybe Jeremy doesn’t know that part? Ryan doesn’t think much of what Jeremy said other than being an interesting little tidbit about Jeremy’s past?

But the longer they’re in the city and around the campus the more memories keep surfacing of his time there, and he’s like.

Shit.

Because there was. Look, Ryan switched majors a couple of times when he was in college, shifting interests and whatnot and that’s kind of what college is sometimes.

Anyway, anyway.

Before his life kind of went to hell and he joined the military/government agency/became a ~terrible criminal he went to the university, right.

Saw his fair share of student tour groups coming through or whatever, and maybe, maybe, there was this one kid who kind of looked like Jeremy? (His Jeremy.)

And he only noticed the guy at all because he was loud and boisterous, laughing it up with his buddies and this laugh that he couldn’t not notice because it was infectious as hell.

Ryan glancing over and watching these dumb kids so full of life and totally unaware of what life held in store for them regarding college life, because ~suffering with the being forced to resemble functional adults?

Didn’t really think much about it after that day, except when he first met Jeremy. (His Jeremy.)

Thought oh, wow, because it had been years and years since he saw that group of high school students and saw the kid with the infectious laughter? But damn if Jeremy doesn’t have the same thing going for him.

Thinks nothing of that either because there are just people like that sometimes, and Ryan’s too busy keeping up with Jeremy and his shenanigans to connect the dots. (Doesn’t really have reason to, does he?)

But then!

Then there’s Jeremy and his idle comment, just dropping a nugget of info about himself that happened to pop into his head and Ryan!

Ryan is like.

WAIT.

Because did he actually sort of kind of run into Jeremy before they officially met? (Not the weirdest thing to happen to him if it did, but what are the odds?)

But they’ve got a mission to see to so he shoves all that to the back of his mind to pick apart while they murder the hell out of some asshole or whatever.

Later, after the target’s dead and they’re back home, Ryan does some digging.

Goes to Matt or whoever is their techie guy and asks a favor. Ignores the side-eye he gets for that and the favors he’s going to owe in return because this little ~mystery has been nagging at him the whole time.

Some time later Jeremy happens across Ryan who’s got a yearbook or copy of a student paper or something, this look on his face like that time they ran into some asshole Ryan thought was dead.

Real piece of work who faked his death and came after Ryan for revenge or something and it was a whole Thing (Jeremy’s got this wicked scar to show for it and Ryan gets this look to him when he sees it, but that’s a whole other Thing they still need to deal with whenever Jeremy can pin Ryan down for it, but anyway.)

“Everything okay?”

Ryan laughs, kind of dorky and everything and tells Jeremy that hey, wow, yeah. Everything’s fine, but remember how you said you almost to school in Savannah?

And Jeremy is a little concerned because he mentioned that weeks ago (a month, almost) and Ryan’s still thinking about it?

So Ryan shows him the yearbook or student paper and there in stunning black and white is this photo of a bunch of asshole high school kids touring the campus. Some dumb little caption about prospect for the upcoming school year, but the thing that captures Jeremy’s eye is the fact he’s one of the assholes in the picture.

Stupid teenager Jeremy with even more questionable fashion choices and -

“Where the hell did you get this?” Jeremy asks, dumb little smile on his face because jfc, what was he thinking with that hair?

Not to mention the clothes, and oh, God, he was such a disaster back then, huh?

And Ryan points out this little cluster of college students at the edge of the photo, almost out of the frame.

One of them is stupid tall and has this ridiculous mop of floppy hair and some nerdy t-shirt and holy fuck, that’s Ryan.

“Oh my God,” Jeremy says, in shock and delight. “Oh my God.”

He snatches the yearbook/student paper out of Ryan’s hands and goes off running to show whoever the hell he can because look at this idiot, okay. Just fucking look at him.

Never mind Jeremy’s own dumb face, fucking looking at Ryan’s, okay.

And Ryan is like JEREMY NO and chases after him and anyway, anyway, just like. Idiots in love who maybe already know/have yet to figure it out and this weird little coincidence of a connection they didn’t know about before.

So...yes.

#jeremwood #ragehappy #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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wholesalejerseyslan-blog · 5 years

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the-million-mile-mountain · 5 years

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It All Lies Here (Chapter 1)

Jeremy Dooley is the first to die.

It’s on the nightly news, in every paper across the city, passed around the other gangs like wildfire. Rimmy Tim, Los Santo’s infamous madman, gone up in flames, his car turned over and dug into the dirt. It had been a long and tedious car chase, the cops nearly losing sight of him several times before the Rimmy-mobile had lost control, practically flying into a nearby field. By the time law enforcement had reached the scene, there was nothing to be found aside from the blazing car and charred leather interior.

From the outside, nothing appears to change with the Fakes. Half the city expects them to go scouting for another member for their inner circle, a sixth to balance them out like they’ve always had, but it never happens. Instead, the deals go down like normal, the crew members still take jobs around the city. To all who aren’t involved, it almost looks like it doesn’t affect the Fakes at all. But there are a few perceptive individuals, the B Team and a few dirty cops on their pay role, who notice things. They’re small, hardly worth mentioning, but the Vagabond seems to stand a little stiffer during drug exchanges, Ramsey’s eyes lose their sparkle, and the Golden Boy’s shine is dimmer now.

Trevor is the first to really see it. He’s visiting the penthouse, running some updates on a small-time gang scuffle back to Geoff, when he sees Gavin and Michael on the couch in the living room. They’re staring at the television, leaning against each other, their eyes vacant and hollow. The two men are getting a little gray around the beards; they’ve been doing this for more years than anyone thought possible, but they’ve never looked so…old. Here, letting their age and grief show, Trevor realizes he’s never seen them not laughing. Or yelling. Or just generally roughhousing. He clutches the files closer to his chest, making his way to Geoff’s office as he tries to block out the sound of Jeremy’s laughter, the home-made videos still playing on the big screen.

“Knock knock!” Trevor chirps, forcing happiness into his voice as he walks into the office. There’s papers on the desk, screens glowing on nearly every wall, but Geoff is merely reclined in his office chair, a bottle of scotch in one hand and the other rubbing at his temples.

“Got what you asked for, boss.” He plops the files down in front of Geoff, startling the other man into sitting up straight. Trevor pretends to not notice Geoff wiping away the tears. Or the bags under his eyes. Or how it looks like the man hasn’t shaved or slept for about four days, if the amount of stubble on his chin is anything to go by.

“Thanks man, I’ll look it over in a bit.” Geoff settles back into his chair, the worn leather creaking in protest.

Trevor nearly turns, nearly walks away from this whole thing, but he pauses just in the doorway, looking over his shoulder. He’s known Geoff for years, ever since he took Trevor in off the streets, gave him a job, a home, people to call family. Geoff is the reason that he has Alfredo for a partner, Matt for a friend, Meg and Lindsay as a team, a future to look forward to. Geoff and his gang have always been there for him. And now, though he knows that he wasn’t anywhere near as close to Jeremy as Geoff was, he still can’t help but miss the older man.

“Look, I’m not really good with words, and I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything,” he begins. Geoff doesn’t make any indication he hears Trevor, but doesn’t tell him to go away either. “But he was a good guy. We’re all gonna miss him.” Trevor tries to ignore the way his own voice wavers.

Geoff lets out a heavy sigh, and Trevor can hear the weight in it. “Yeah. Things just…won’t be the same without him.” He sniffles loudly, taking another swig from the whiskey as a few more tears roll their way into his beard.

When Geoff doesn’t continue, Trevor merely leaves, making a mental note to tell Jack to lock up the liquor, at least for a little while.

..:..:..:..:..:..

Gavin is next.

No one expects it. It’s a high-speed pursuit down the coast, Gavin’s bike creating bright pink trails in the darkness and flashing red and blue lights try to keep up with him. They have reports of the others involved in the heist having already evaded law enforcement, but this chase seems to be lasting a bit longer. From the news helicopter following along, it almost looks like Gavin will get away again just like the times before, disappearing into the night without a trace only to reappear the next day. It’s a plot even the police are expecting to follow, so it’s a shock when Gavin’s trail of lights plummets into the ocean. His bike runs dead into a guard rail, and the rider goes somersaulting into the sea.

The cops never find the body. Honestly, they don’t really try; a storm kicks up right after they lose Gavin and they lose hope of finding him. The ripples across the crime world are a little stronger this time; the Golden Boy, Ramsey’s infamous hacker, is gone. No more internet surveillance, no more tracking or monitoring how much information that man may or may not have access to. The other gangs in the area start to pick up activity, emboldened by the Super Power’s sudden loss of influence. Sure, they may seem as calm and collected as ever as they run their usual jobs, but the gang bosses and drug lords around the city boast that they have to be crumbling.

The turn out to be more right than they think.

Lindsay races to the penthouse as soon as she hears the news. Yes, Jeremy’s death had hit her and the rest of the B Team hard, but Trevor had warned them to stay away, to give the crew time to grieve. To his credit, he’d tried to tell her the same this time, but this is Gavin. Her boy, her partner in crime, her best friend is gone. And this is Michael. As much as Lindsay hurts, which is a fucking lot, she knows that out of all six partners, Michael has to be hurting the worst.

Lindsay is almost expecting there to be shouting when she bursts into the penthouse. Screaming, things breaking, Ryan yelling back, something. But instead, the quiet is almost suffocating. Ryan’s on the couch, his skull mask nestled firmly on his face and his eyes glued to the television. She can hear the re-hashing of tonight’s fateful car chase, and she’d have half a mind to scold him to torturing himself, but instead she makes a beeline for the back bedrooms.

She doesn’t even bother knocking before barging into Michael’s room, and her heart nearly stops at what she sees. Michael, the firecracker, the loudest of the lads, is curled into a ball on Gavin’s side of their humungous bed, pressing Gavin’s pillow to his face. She can see his shoulders shake from her position in the door, and the quietest of sniffles and sobs echo in the silence.

“Oh Michael,” Lindsay breathes, immediately rushing to the side of the bed. In the dim glow of the single lamp, Lindsay can see the tears tracks running down his freckled cheeks. She cradles his face in her hands, tears forming in her own eyes, and he doesn’t even look at her and she brushes her fingers down to his shoulders, pulling him into a somewhat awkward but crushing hug.

“Michael, I’m so sorry.”

Michael say nothing, just snakes one hand around her neck and crushes her to him, and she chooses not to mention him shaking as the sobbing starts back up.

They lay together in bed like this for a long while, only pulling away when Michael’s breathing evens out, his shoulders losing their tension and his face going slack. Lindsay doesn’t hide her open staring, wondering how one person can go from being so vibrant and full of life to a mere husk of who they used to be. Michael’s been in this business for nearing thirty years, an impressive feat for anyone in this walk of life, and in all the time Lindsay has known him, both as a dirty cop and as a fellow criminal, she’s never known him to not be…loud. Obnoxious. Reckless and brash. Loving and caring. Himself. But now, with his boi gone and Jeremy already buried, he’s empty. And that’s not something Lindsay likes to see.

She wipes a thumb across his cheek, the other hand rubbing soothing circles into his back. “I’m sorry,” she says again, because at this point, what else is there to say? Gavin and Michael were together the longest, boyfriends and partners before even meeting the Fakes. A bond like that…it can’t be fixed with just words. Michael just lowers his eyes, fingers idly playing with the now-fraying edge of Gavin’s pillow.

Lindsay’s a talker, always has been and always will be. As The Phoenix, Agent of Chaos, and an absolute madwoman with a rocket launcher, there’s nothing she can’t and won’t do to bring her enemies to their knees in both fear and awe. But now, as Lindsey Tuggey, best friend to Michael and Gavin, she can’t find anything to do except hold Michael as he falls into a fitful sleep.

When Michael wakes the next morning, Lindsay is still here, small circles under eyes and a flimsy smile on her lips. And if she notices Michael reaching to the other side of the bed, desperately looking for Gavin under the covers, she doesn’t mention it. Instead, she makes the remains of the crew french toast, not sticking around long enough to intrude on their private moment of grief.

On her way out, Michael tugs on her sleeve, fixes her with a steely gaze, and whispers something into her ear.

“Take care of Meg.”

Her heart squeezes as she thinks of her girlfriend, who must also be devastated, and just nods, peeling away from the building a minute later.

..:..:..:..:..:..

No one is really that shocked when Michael goes next.

Mogar had been irritable the past few weeks, without the calming presences of the Golden Boy and Rimmy Tim to ground him. Setting fires, starting fights, and causing havoc have been his pastimes of late, and the other gangs just know it’s a matter of time before he does something stupid, like set a building on fire and not make it out.

Which is exactly what happens.

The nightly news covers it as a freak accident, a stray power line that had gone haywire and set an empty apartment building ablaze. And, by all accounts, that’s exactly what it looked like. Anyone who may have been in the building at the time would be unidentifiable by now, burnt to char by the blaze. The news crew conveniently left out that there was a tag on the side of the building, a “G” in bright gold spray paint. Or that there had been a puddle of gasoline near where the fire had started. Or that there was no way the power line could have just fallen into the middle of the building.

Or that all the doors were locked from the inside.

Meg is the one to visit this time, her already-thin figure shaking with rage. She barges into the penthouse, her hands curled into fists, knives clenched in each hand. She doesn’t announce herself, doesn’t ask if anyone is there, just lets out a blood-curdling scream. Three gaunt and mildly-alarmed figures appear from around the corner, their guns dropping as they catch sight of the infamous Baby Doll.

“Meg, what’re y—”

Meg interrupts Jack as she launches herself at Ryan, the older man’s eyes going wide behind his mask. Meg can’t think of anything coherent to say as they tussle on their carpeted floor of the penthouse, so she just starts yelling. A shout when he knocks the knives from her hands, a yell when she lands a punch on his chin, a scream when he falls and she pounces, fists pounding into his chest with a series of solid thumps.

She’s barely aware of Geoff and Jack yelling in the background, of their hands grabbing at her arms, of them bodily hauling her away from the Vagabond. Ryan merely stands up slowly, eyes not reaching hers as he reaches beneath his mask to wipe away some stray blood.

“You were supposed to keep him safe!” Meg screeches, struggling against Jack’s arms as she pins the smaller girl to her body. “You were supposed to watch him, make sure he didn’t do something stupid!”

“It’s isn’t anyone’s fault—” Jack soothes, but Meg just shouts again, he voice cracking near the end as she tries to keep the lump in her throat away.

“No! Someone should have been with him! I should have—” Meg breaks off, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes. She stops struggling, going limp in Jack’s arms. “I should have been there.” Meg’s voice is barely a whisper now, and she doesn’t even try to keep the tears from falling. Jack lowers her slowly to the ground, Geoff’s hands on Meg’s shoulders to steady her. Meg grips her own shoulders, as if trying to keep herself from breaking apart. “I should have kept him safe.”

Meg stiffens as large arms encircle her, and she feels the rubber of Ryan’s mask rub against her cheek as he squeezes. “It’s not your fault. He was hurting.” She can hear the tremor in Ryan’s voice as he speaks, feel the trembling in his shoulders. “No one could have stopped him, you know that.”

Meg barks out a short laugh, arms gripping at Ryan’s leather jacket, hiding her face in his neck. He still smells like Michael a bit, like Gavin and Jeremy too. Meg’s been a part of the B Team for years, known Ryan and Michael for longer than that. Back when they’d first met, it had almost seemed like they couldn’t die. Like they could rule the world forever, side by side. But now, that dream is crumbling, and the only people left are sobbing in each other’s arms, the night closing in around the penthouse and the remnants of its broken crew.

..:..:..:..:..:..:..

The others follow soon after.

What was left of the Fake AH Crew had tried to do something small-time, rob a bank like they’d used to back when they were two-bit criminals. And at first, it had all gone smoothly. The money was in the cars, the police were almost evaded.

Until the blockade.

The news stations had eaten up the story of Ryan Haywood, the infamous Vagabond going down in a blaze of glory, law enforcement on all sides as he fires his weapon into the mass of officers. They say that Sergeant Burns was the one to fire the killing blow, a bullet aimed at a weak spot in his already-damaged body armor that dropped the criminal in a matter of seconds. The Kingpin and his Right Hand were nowhere to be found during the confrontation, but many suspected they had retreated to their base to lick their wounds, the only members of the Fakes left alive. In certain circles, plans begin to form: take out the last two remaining members of the original Fakes and their territory would be up for grabs. Multiple crews around the area begin to whisper and plot; now that the Vagabond is out of the way, the other two will be easy pickings.

It only takes a few moments after hearing these rumors for Trevor to immediately set out for the penthouse.

Trevor speeds over as fast as he can, swerving in between summer tourists and cops cars who didn’t bother chasing after him. Everyone in the city knows that Trevor’s fleet of cars can outrun the cops any day at half-speed, and his foot is already pressed to the floor, the landscape blurring into a haze of building and headlights as he speeds to the penthouse.

Trevor knows that something is wrong as soon as he enters the penthouse. The lights are all off save for a few lamps in the corners. The coffee table and kitchen counter are immaculate, not a stray coffee mug or glass of beer left out, almost like no one’s lived here in months. The silence in the flat is only broken by the dull drone of the television still left on; just a few months ago, he’d be able to hear Michael screaming after Gavin, Jeremy laughing manically as he watched from the couch. Geoff would be half-heartedly trying to get the two younger men to calm down, and Jack and Ryan would just watch from the kitchen with matching grins, tired but fond, on their faces. The penthouse had never been silent, or clean for that matter, in the several years that Trevor had known the six Fakes. But now…

“Geoff?” Trevor calls out into the empty house. “Jack? You there?” Only his own voice answered him back, the blank, white walls almost mocking him. Trevor takes a moment to wonder when the photos, pictures of heists and vacations and picnics, had disappeared from the walls. It may have been right after Jeremy died; after all, being constantly reminded of someone who wasn’t there anymore couldn’t have been easy.

Trevor makes his way into the living room, and the two things that catch his eye make his heart drop. The first is an envelope, plain white with only his name on the front. It sits on the coffee table, as if awaiting his arrival. The second is the television. It’s tuned into a news channel, the blond woman sitting behind her desk obviously reading off of a teleprompter behind the camera.

However, it isn’t simply the news story that has Trevor’s blood freezing in his veins. It’s the video playing in the top right corner of the screen, and Trevor frantically grabs for a remote, turning up the volume in horror.

“—appears to have collided with the side of Mount Chiliad after a malfunction with the aircraft.” The camera zooms in on the brunt-out husk of a chopper, the make and model undeniably Jack’s prized helicopter. Trevor would know that vehicle anywhere; heaven knows he’d gone on enough jobs in that thing with Jack in the cockpit. “Officer Sorola of the LSPD recovered two bodies, positively identified as the Kingpin Geoff Ramsey and his right hand, Jack Pattillo.” The screen in the background changes to a still photograph of Gus, still in his uniform, and Trevor could have sworn that Geoff had paid off that officer ages ago.

The image of Jack’s helicopter, still ablaze and bent at awkward angles, slides back onto the screen, and Trevor can’t seem to move. He isn’t one to cry very often, hell he’s more likely to laugh something off and deal with it later, but something hollow settle sin his chest, and he opens Geoff’s letter without thinking, bringing the paper up to his face with shaking hands. It has Geoff’s trademark scrawl across the front, and he’s thankful he’s had years of reading his handwriting, or else it’d be illegible.

Hey there,

If you’re reading this, then I guess the worst happened. I didn’t wanna write this; it’s bad luck to act like you’re gonna die, ‘cause then it’s a guarantee. But with everything that’s happened, Jack said we have to have a backup plan. Which is you, I guess. The key to the penthouse and all of the passcodes to the warehouses and shit are in this envelope. Looks like you’re the next Big Man, kid. I hereby beq beake bequeathe leave the city to you. Take good care of the city while we’re gone, keep Lindsay and Meg from blowing it up.

See ya, kid.

Geoff, Jack, and Ryan

P.S.: The faucet in the secondary bathroom leaks, just so you know. Might wanna get that looked at.

Trevor glances between the screen and the letter, his heart pounding in his ears, his hands not quite feeling like his own. When Trevor had joined the Fakes, they had become his family almost instantly. That family had only gotten bigger when the rest of the B Team had come aboard, the whole lot of them nearly inseparable. But now…

It’s just them left. Just Trevor and his team. His family, the people he could trust with his life and more, are mostly gone now. He only has Alfredo, Lindsay, and Meg left. And as much as he truly cares for his team, sees them as family, there’s nothing they can do to replace Geoff and his goofy grins, his advice that sounds a little too sage coming from someone like him, or Jack with her reassuring presence and sharp wit. Michael too, Gavin and Ryan and Jeremy, they had at one point all seemed so invincible. But now, with the letter in his hands and the television still droning on, Trevor can’t help but feel small, almost lost without his family.

He isn’t quite sure how long he stands there, how long the tears have been falling, but when he comes back to reality, Alfredo’s arms are around his shoulders. They’re sitting on the couch. The TV is off, the letter in on the table, and Alfredo murmuring comforting words to him through his own tears. Trevor just lets this happen, closing his eyes and hoping that this nightmare will end soon.

..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..

Here’s the first chapter of It All Lies Here, finally! It’s been up on AO3 for a while (username is MillionMileMountain if you want to stop by and hang out), but this is the first time I’ve had a computer that could connect to this site for a while, so it’s a little late, but here you go! I’ll be putting the other two chapters up here in a bit, but please feel free to leave comments or anything! Also, my inbox is always open for prompts and things, or even just to talk. Thanks for reading! :)

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arcaneapologist · 5 years

Text

Partners in Crime- Ch 10

hey what do you know. i forgot it was monday. again. anyways... here’s chapter 10. i apologize for the title but uh. i really struggled with it and decided to make the temporary title the permanent title. so uh. here’s the link to a03. and a big thanks to @vinndetta who wrote a small lil fic that gave me some inspiration rewrite/finish this chapter.

Chapter 10: FUCK THIS FUCKING THANKSGIVING CHAPTER.

Dan was wandering through the grocery store by his house, attempting to decide which two side dishes to make for Thanksgiving. It was proving to be far more difficult than he imagined, as he had no idea how to cook. Dan still had two days, but he wanted to get this figured out sooner rather than later. Especially since everyone else already knew what they were making. Then, there was the subject of decorating his house. He’d found out Suzy and Holly and Arin went all out when it came to Holiday decorations.

He left the groceries and headed towards the seasonal aisle. Maybe while looking at something else would help him figure out what he was going to make. He picked up a few plastic pumpkins and set them in the cart, then turned in a circle. There was so much to choose from, and this was something else he’d never been good at. Dan pushed his hair out of his face and groaned. Why did everyone have to come to his house? Because you volunteered your house, Dummy. Though it was still small, his town-home was far bigger than anyone else’s apartment.

“You alright there? You seem to be having some sort of crisis.” A giggly voice asked from behind him.

He turned around to find the girl from a few weeks earlier, “Oh. Hello again.”

“It seems like I’m following you this time.” She took a step around her cart, suddenly serious. “But really. Are you okay?”

“Ugh... No.” Dan sighed. “I’ve got... I’ve got like five people coming over for Thanksgiving and I have absolutely no idea what I should cook or how to cook or how to decorate... Or anything really”

The woman laughed and walked over to Dan’s cart, examining the contents. “Well. For starters, you should probably get a tablecloth, and, unless you want to be washing dishes all night, some festive, cute paper plates and plastic silverware.”

She walked a little further down the aisle and Dan followed her, “Right… I’m sorry, what was your name?”

She put on her sweetest smile and ran a hand through her hair, “My name is Clara. What’s yours?”

“Danny. I… I think these will work?” They stood side by side, looking at the plastic tablecloths and paper plates, while he pretended to have any idea of what defined “festive and cute.”

“Yeah. I think those would be great, Danny.” She pulled a small, artificial hay bale from a shelf and threw it in his cart. “This is also nice. Hay just screams fall, you know? How many people do you have coming again?”

“There’s five coming, so six altogether.” Danny found a bag of fake “fall harvest food”, as the label called it, and threw that in the basket as well.

“And you said they’re all friends? No family?” Clara knew he hadn’t said, but wanted to see just how much he was paying attention to the conversation.

“Right. I’ve got my three best friends, and then these two guys that I’ve only met once. But the other three insist they’re super nice and I should invite them, anyway.” Dan rolled his eyes, not seeing the smirk on Clara’s face. Dan was as clueless and flighty as his ex had said. She could probably openly stalk Dan and he’d be none the wiser. The only hindrance she’d face would be Arin,Suzy, and Holly. There’s no way Matt and Ryan would remember her well enough. Besides, if they did, she could take care of the, fairly quickly.

“You should make macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. You can buy the boxed stuff and have it done in thirty minutes. Plus you don’t have to be able to cook at all.”

“Yeah…And Arin loves mac and cheese.” He mumbled, mostly to himself. Then turned and smiled at Clara, his voice softening . “Thanks for all your help. I hope I run into you again sometime soon.”

“Yeah, no problem Danny.” Clara smiled and waved as he walked away.

~~~

Dan was elbow deep and cursing into a pot of mashed potatoes when all of his friends got to his house for Thanksgiving. He’d stupidly changed his mind at the last second and decided to make the potatoes and mac and cheese from scratch instead of out of the box. The macaroni had turned out fantastic, but the potatoes were giving him hell. He could barely hear the knocking on the door over the mixer in his hands. He yelled for everyone to come in, instead of acting like a proper host and answering the door himself. He dumped more milk and butter into the pot, hoping the potatoes would thin out some.

Ryan came in first, Matt right behind him, each carrying a store bought pie. “Hey dude. Can we put these in the fridge.”

“Yep.” Dan grumbled. “Don’t fucking care.”

Suzy and Holly came in next more side dishes. Holly gave him a tight hug from behind “Happy Thanksgiving, Danny!”

Suzy set her dish down, then checked his pot of potatoes before grabbing the milk jug. She poured even more in, enough to worry Dan that the potatoes would be soup. “Put the mixer on the highest setting, Sexb//ang, and go to town… And happy thanksgiving.”

She leaned up and kissed his cheek before following the other three into the living room. Sure enough, in less than a minute, the potatoes were the perfect consistency. It wasn’t until Dan set the mixer down that he realized he hadn’t seen Arin. He grabbed a paper towel to wipe his hands off with, before heading into the living room. As he walked past his front door it swung open, revealing a breathless Arin and a very large foil wrapped turkey.

“Sorry I’m late. I was seeing my mom.” He smiled at Dan, before yelling. “In the kitchen guys. I’m starving, let’s eat!”

“Happy Thanksgiving, by the way” He gave Arin a small pat on the back.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Dan.”

They all crowded around Dan’s tiny kitchen table, having to leave the food on the counters just so they had somewhere to eat. Dan soon found out Suzy, Holly, and Arin had been right. Inviting Matt and Ryan was a great idea. They bickered like they were brothers and seemed to turn the most normal sentences into a joke.

Once they’d finished eating everyone pitched in to help Dan clean up the dishes, before they settled into the living room. Dan wanted to watch the football game, but he seemed to be the only one. He was overruled in favor of the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, though everyone agreed to let him check the score during the commercials. None of them talked all that much, instead sitting in comfortable silence and playing on their phones.

Dan continued to surprise himself with how close he had gotten to Matt and Ryan in just a few short weeks. They were stretched out on the loveseat, facing opposite directions with their feet in each others faces, and sharing a blanket. When he found out they were trained assassins he was a little apprehensive, but now they were like the younger brothers Dan never had. He let out a heavy sigh, his thoughts turning to his own family he doesn’t talk to. Right before she’d cut ties with Dan, he’d found out his sister was expecting her second child, another son. His nephews probably didn’t remember him, but he wished they did. He wished he’d gotten his act together sooner.

Dan let out a small laugh at the thought of even having his act together now. He could see his family’s reaction upon hearing, “Yeah, guys. I hang out with a bunch of criminals. The usual run down: a con artist, two disguise and surveillance experts… Oh and two professionally trained assassins.” His family would probably move states and change their names. Dan shook his head and reached for the TV remote. There was a very real possibility that his entire family had moved and Dan wouldn’t have even known about it.

Arin stirred from his section of the couch, leaning over and setting his head on Dan’s shoulder, “Why the face and the sighing, buddy?”

“Just… Thinking about my family… Or lack thereof I guess.” Dan shrugged.

“Yeah… I get that. But sometimes family isn’t… Family, you know? It’s not always the people who raised you. Sometimes the people you meet in your twenties or thirties are a better family than the ones who raised you.” Arin still sounded groggy and like he was ready to go back to sleep, but he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Sure.” Dan could tell himself that all he wanted that his friends were all the family he needed, but it didn’t make a difference.

“Dan, I know you don’t want to believe me, but I promise you all of us here love you and care about you.”

“Arin… That’s not it. I miss my family. I miss my sister and my parents. I have two nephews and I’ve never even met one of them. My parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary and I wasn’t there. Do you know how awful that feels?” Dan ran a hand over his face. He didn’t want to discount how close he was with any of his friends, but it just wasn’t quite the same.

“I… I don’t… But I’m really sorry.”

Arin stood and moved to wake up the rest of the group, they all had somewhere they needed to be. They all noticed the shift in Dan’s mood from earlier and seemed reluctant to leave, but he politely pushed them out the door. Dan just needed to get out and get his mind off of everything. He waited a few minutes before grabbing his own coat and keys and heading out the door.

#yeah it's alright. not the best. not the worst #i struggled so. much. with this chapter #like. a lot #but here it is #i really like the next two chapters tho #there's conflict and scary stuff!#my writing #partners in crime fic #egobang #polygrumps #shipgrumps

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thedazedyouth · 6 years

Text

Loyalty

It was peaceful here, maybe a little too peaceful for his liking but it’s a good thing that it isn’t for you, dumbass. The birds chirped happily in the nearby trees, the wind was nothing more than a whisper through the blades of grass and the sea was as beautiful as shining sapphires.

Nature as it should be.

That is, until the sound of a motorbike roared through the hills. It pulled up in the worn shed that seemed out of place in contrast to the estate.

Trevor turned his attention away from the countryside to greet his twin. Alfredo slid off his slick black helmet to reveal his shining chestnut eyes, grinning from ear to ear.

“Heist went that well, huh,” Trevor said, smiling in return as Alfredo slung off his backpack and tossed it to Trevor.

Trevor pulled open the zips, unveiling the stacks of cash Alfredo had stuck in there.

“Geoff wants you at the penthouse later, something about rewarding that genius, or some shit like that.” Alfredo laughed at himself, the mid-afternoon sun beaming down on his tan face, illuminating his bright smile.”

“Well,” Trevor replied as Alfredo made his way towards Trevor, “Geoff doesn’t keep me around for nothing. Somebody’s gotta plan the heists for those dumbassess.”

The boys were chuckling together as they strolled into the country house. It’s owner, Lindsay, greeted them as they entered the front lounge.

“How’d my boy do?” she asked, taking the backpack from Trevor and peered inside. Lindsay let out a short wolf whistle. Looking back up at Trevor and Alfredo as she added, “We trained him well, didn’t we?”

Trevor laughed. “We raised him like he was our own.”

Alfredo groaned, only to earn a laugh from each Lindsay and Trevor. Being the newest member to the crew seemed to warrant everyone from the Fakes to act like his parents out in the field, he thought as least here they wouldn’t be as annoying.

“How much trouble out there?” Trevor had flopped onto the nearest armchair and waited for the other two to follow.

Alfredo took the beige couch opposite Trevor, while Lindsay curled up in the ugly, brown chair she refused to throw out because it’s warm and comfy, so piss off.

“Actually, everything went without a hitch,” Alfredo claimed. “Jack was saying it was one of their easiest heist.” He paused to look around the room swiftly, before he asked, “Where’s Matt?”

“Out getting lunch.” Lindsay had began counting through the number of stacks Alfredo had brought back as she spoke.

The three sat around the lounge together, listening intently to Alfredo’s retelling of the “intense and dramatic” heist, despite his insisting that it was a breeze.

It was rare for this side of the crew to have an opportunity to act like normal people, especially when the only one missing was performing such a mundane task. It’d been some time since they had been able to sit together and just talk.

Most days either one, or all of them were out helping the Fakes. Trevor tended to hid away with Geoff and Jack to discuss the never-ending list of issues the crew had; Lindsay would take either her husband, Ryan or Jeremy out for some controlled chaos whenever they needed, which seemed to be often; Alfredo covered Gavin when he dealt with some particularly frustrating rival crew member, that it unless Gavin had already taken Matt to take out a tough firewall.

So the days they were together, just them, without the main Fakes, were cherished but not squeezed dry. In their line of work, they never thought too long about the good things, knowing how easily they can be taken away.

Alfredo and Lindsay laughed as Alfredo mentioned some stupid stunt Gavin had pulled during the heist, but Trevor had blocked them out.

His head turned to point his ear towards the window, focusing on the sounds from outside. Something was wrong, he could feel it but he just couldn’t place it.

Alfredo and Lindsay had gone silent, noticing Trevor’s change in posture.

“What is it?” Alfredo asked, already stretching out for one of the many hidden guns that were placed around the house.

Trevor didn’t answer, instead he reached under the mahogany coffee table in the center of the lounge, he slid out an automatic rifle that was strapped to the underside, Alfredo and Lindsay following suit with their own weapons.

Trevor raised from the seat, and stalked carefully with his gun raised towards the front door. He opened it slowly and peered around each corner.

“Alfredo, attic window. Watch our backs,” Trevor ordered.

Alfredo nodded, then raced upstairs. Lindsay stood next to Trevor as they scanned through the countryside on their patio. It wasn’t unusual for them to assume these positions, most times were false alarms, or some of the Fakes thinking they’re suddenly comedians. But they had worked hard to keep their names away from those in the Fakes, and they were going to keep them hidden. Anyone who got too close to finding them didn’t make it long enough to tell anyone.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Lindsay asked, never lowering her gun despite her doubts.

As Trevor begun to explain the indescribable feeling in the pit of his stomach, he was interrupted by the roaring sounds of engines.

Car after car flew into the small valley the house rested in, they landed and skidded in the surrounding land. They easily swarmed the house, cutting off all escapes. When the paused, Trevor was able to see LSPD printed on the side of one of the cars.

Trevor and Lindsay already started firing on the officers before they even got the chance to get out from the vehicles, they busted out windows and sent cars crashing into each other in the mayhem. The onslaught eased slightly as Alfredo sniped the cars before they got to reach Trevor and Lindsay.

The cops were quick to return fire, hiding in and behind their cars for cover. Trevor and Lindsay did their best to advance on the police department, they knew exactly where to hit to cause a fiery explosion. They used the moments of chaos to their advantage.

Cops were going down all around them, but for every head they shot, two more appeared. There seemed to be a never ending stream of SWAT cars, and heavily armed soldiers emerging from them.

It wasn’t an even fight.

Trevor, Alfredo and Lindsay were outnumbered almost ten to one. It was too easy to take down the crew.

They had cornered Trevor against a burning car, a dozen men with more ammo than him. He kept his rifle raised as they edged towards him, surrounding him in a closed semi-circle. Someone to his right ordered him to put his gun down but he couldn’t tell through the thick helmets they wore. When Trevor didn’t obey, the voice repeated its command.

Trevor’s mind raced. Fighting would be futile, there was no way they would all make it out alive and Trevor wasn’t about to let his crew die. Knowing Lindsay and Alfredo were keeping him in their sights, he made an effort to kneel slowly to drop his gun. Someone hurried forwards to collect it, and another person shoved him onto the dirt, cuffing his wrists behind his back.

When the man pulled Trevor from the ground he spotted Alfredo. Alfredo had left his post in the attic to snipe from the broken kitchen, and Trevor knew Alfredo had watched the whole thing. Two soldiers gripped onto Alfredo’s binded arms, pushing him down the stairs. Rage was clear on his face, but when he meet eyes with Trevor from across the way, he almost relaxed; Alfredo nodding towards his boss, but Trevor barely able to maintain eye contact for more than a moment.

Trevor was lead towards a van when he spotted Lindsay. Her gun was gone but she wasn’t going down without a fight. She headbutted the poor soul who tried to handcuff her, but another cop pressed a taser into her side and Lindsay collapsed. They heaved her up and walked her semi-conscience body away.

Trevor climbed into the back of a SWAT truck, designed to hold dangerous criminals like himself. Before the doors were closed, he got a glance at his team being sent to their own trucks.

The Swindler had failed his team.

At least Matt got out.

————————————————————

Matt stood in line to his favourite pizza joint. He was nearing the front, hoping he could get back to Lindsay’s before Alfredo got back from the heist. It had been a while since they’ve been able to just eat lunch together, and Matt wanted to make it as old-school as possible.

He had piled the pizzas into the passenger's seat of his car and was making his way back to Lindsay’s country house when a pack of cop cars raced past his convertible, they were heading towards the general direction of the others. But nothing was a coincidence in this city, so Matt gave them a moment to drive away before punching down his gas pedal, and taking a right where the cops took a life; his own personal shortcut.

Or it should have been a shortcut, but when Matt swung around a corner he was meet with a series of roadworks, blocking his way to his team. He swore under his breath and whipped his car around.

He knew before he arrived that he was too late.

No one was left at the house, they were dozens of corpses though.

Matt made sure to check none of them were Trevor or Lindsay or Alfredo.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The clock in Trevor’s interrogation room was unusually loud. Or maybe it was just the dead silence he’d been held in for the last forty two minutes and seventeen seconds, he had counted every single tick, tock, tick, tock of that damn clock.

“Hey, dumbasses,” he yelled to no one, “if you want me to talk then you better not let me die of boredom in here.”

Unsurprisingly he received no response.

Even if he hadn’t been placed into a soundproof room, there wasn’t anybody around to hear him. A majority of the cops in the precinct were laughing at him, and how easy it was to capture these useless criminals. Why did they ever think it would actually be challenge, but hey, that’s why they’re just a B-Team.

The few cops who were still doing their job were standing guard outside Lindsay’s holding room, just in case the vicious redhead managed to escape.

She smiled sweetly at her interrogator as he sat down in front of her.

“Sir please,” Lindsay said innocently. “There has to be some kind of mistake. I’m not whoever you think I am.

“Oh really?” the cop replied, amused with her attempts of feigned innocence. “So, you are not Lindsay Jones, alias Ruby? And you have no ties to the notorious crew named the Fakes, and I shouldn’t even go far as to say you are married to a Michael Jones, known as Mogar; who known to be a member of the Fakes?”

Lindsay shook her head. “No sir. None of that sounds familiar, sir. Although that Mogar does sound pretty hot. Got his number?”

“Cut the crap, Jones. You’re in over your head here, but I can get you out,” the cop said. “Just tell me a few pieces of information, and you’ll be on your merry way. Your record with be wiped clean, I promise.”

Lindsay pretended to muse over the cops words for a moment before responding. “What kind of information?” she asked.

“A list of all known associates of the Fakes, anyone else that plays a key role in their operations that we are not aware of. Their hideouts, safehouses, or their current location.”

“And I get full immunity? Police protection until the Fakes are brought down for good?”

The cop nodded gleefully.

Lindsay bite her lip as she glanced around the room, then lent forward and gestured best she could for the cop to follow.

When their faces were barely a few centimeters apart, Lindsay spoke.

“I want a cheeseburger, with a side of curly fries. Oh, and don’t forget a chocolate milkshake.”

The man sighed, and acted as though he didn’t hear her. “Addresses of their current locations,” he repeated.

So Lindsay did the same, even telling him exactly where to buy it, and describing the joints backstory in odd detail.

The cop stood up with a huff and left the room, knowing that was the most useful information he’d get from her.

He moved onto Alfredo, the guards moving with him.

Alfredo watched as the man slid into the metal chair, cracking his neck on either side.

“Alright listen up,” the man said. “We were able to bug your bike, and we tracked you back to that little hideout you had going on there. I know you’re a smart guy and you’re extremely good at what you do. Slip ups like that don’t just happen in your line of work. I’m willing to bet that you let us bug you on purpose. You can’t handle this life anymore, and you want an escape. Let me help you escape.”

Alfredo didn’t flinch, but struggled to maintain eye contact with the cop.

They had bugged him. Him. Alfredo “The Sauce” fucking Diaz. And he never noticed, not even thought to check because he slipped into a false sense of security. This was all his fault. They got caught when no one had ever came close to them before.

The cop smirked. “Unless. . . it was a slip up? Who woulda guessed someone like you could have been so careless. What’s gonna happen to you when the real Fakes learn about this. You’ve seen what they do to snitches. They’ll kill you,” the man hissed.

“Don’t you ever fucking me a snitch again,” Alfredo spat, leaping at the cop. If it wasn’t for the cuffs holding him back, Alfredo would have strangled the man.

Luckily the man was smart, and knew when to stop. The last two gave him nothing, so her moved on to the man in charge.

-----------------------------------------------

“These people you’ve collected are quite loyal, aren’t they? Still, their loyalty had blinded them but that wouldn’t happen to you, right, Swindler?”

Trevor peered at the man. “What stupid bullshit are you on about?”

“What I’m trying to saying is, do you really believe the Fakes are this loyal to you, as you are to them? I mean, you are the Support Crew after all. Nothing more. You’re expendable to them. The Fakes know nothing about loyalty, they only care about the irreplaceable ones. Like Kingpin, or Vagabond, or their precious Golden Boy. There’s no one like them, but you lot? A chick with anger issues, a sniper and a lonely, little pretty boy. There’s millions just like you. “I have to ask, are you willing to spend your life in prison for people who don’t give a crap about you? They don’t care if you live or die. Do you see them anywhere? Are they busting down the doors to rescue you? No. So, stop being loyal to them, and I can help you get out of this unscathed.”

Trevor laughed. Full body laughing to the point where his body shook and tears were forming in his eyes. When he finally caught his breath, he turned deadly serious

“Listen up you fuck,” he demanded. “You don’t know shit about my crew. Yes, my crew. Nothing about them is expendable. You think Mogar is bad, you think you’ve seen death and destruction after him? Ruby is the one who keeps him in check, she is everything Mogar is but worse. She could rip apart mountains with her bare hands. Ruby could burn cities to ash with one look. If you aren’t afraid of her, you’re just plain stupid.

“The Sauce is the best sniper in the world. He can make a shot a hundred feet away, in a moving vehicle and hit the target right between the eyes. And you think that’s expendable? You only know him because he’s a Fake now, but you’ve been hunting him longer than you think. And if you thought Brownman was lethal, you won’t know what hits you when when The Sauce comes running.

“And me? Just a pretty boy? I’m the son of a bitch that keeps the whole crew alive. I’m the Fakes’ eyes and ears in this city. I know everything and everyone here, nothing happens in my city without my approval. If I don’t like something, I barely have to lift a finger to shut it down, and I don’t even have to do it myself; there’s a few hundred men and women in this city who will gladly do my dirty work. But there is one thing I’ll do myself. Katie’s your wife, correct? I know she’d hate to explain to seven year old Jay why his father never came home from work.

“Does that sound expendable to you? Do you think the Fakes would give all that up? You think the Fakes only understand violence, but no, they understand loyalty, and family. Once they’ve accepted you, they will burn the world down. We are apart of the Fakes, no matter what you think.

“And one last thing, sir. . . What time is it?”

“Huh?”

“What time is it?” Trevor repeated.

Baffled, the man checked his watch. “It’s- it’s uh, ten past three.”

“Those fuckers are late.” Trevor laughed in annoyance.

The man quickly regained himself. “What are you talking about?”

“I give this giant speech about how loyal those shits are and then they’re late. What assholes.”

“Tell me- ”

The cop started to push further but was interrupted by a break out of rapid gunfire.

He glanced at Trevor before making his way towards the door. The second his back was facing Trevor, the cuffs fell off Trevor’s wrists. He was behind the cop in a second, one hand was on the back of his head and slammed it against the hard wall again and again.

The man slumped onto the floor, blood pooling around his head. Trevor knelt down after him, searching the body for a gun. Thankfully he found one hidden in the man’s waistband.

Trevor took a deep breath then kicked open the door to the room, and began firing on the first people he saw. There were only a few men standing guard, they didn’t have a chance to react before they dropped dead.

Trevor swapped his small handgun for a rifle hung around on of the guards body. Only one man ran down the white corridor towards Trevor, who was dead the moment Trevor saw him.

The gunfire was coming from outside. He estimated about two dozen different guns were involved in the fight. But he ignored it, moving on to finding the rest of his crew.

A few doors down to his room was Alfredo. When Trevor busted down the door he instinctively shot at the blue uniform, Alfredo sighed in annoyance.

“I had that, you know?”

“Sure you did,” Trevor joked, beconging Alfredo to follow him.

The cuffs around his wrists clattered onto the ground as Alfredo stood.

“Trevor, there’s something you need to know,” Alfredo said, as he jogged up to Trevor who had secured another gun, and threw it to Alfredo.

Trevor was down the corridor in search of Lindsay when he stopped and turned to face Alfredo. “Fredo, you don’t have to explain yourself,” he replied. “I already figured it out. And listen to me, it wasn’t your fault.”

“But-”

“We can talk about it later. Just me and you. But now, we need to find Lindsay and get outta here. Okay?” Trevor said softly.

“Okay,” Alfredo answered.

Trevor smiled, then turned back to kick down the final door in the hallway. It slammed open to reveal Lindsay with her back to them, and a cop on the ground laying in a heap. Lindsay’s boot was digging itself into her ribs.

Lindsay turned her head around to see her team, blowing a strand of hair from her face. “Hey, boys,” she said. “I’m just finishing up here.” She paused to give the woman one final kick. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Lindsay skipped over to the boys and after one quick trip to the stations armoury, they were all armed and ready to go.

The oak doors leading into the station were closed, but the gunfire was coming directly from outside.

Trevor counted down, then him and Alfredo kicked open the doors and they assumed fire. They didn’t receive much fight back, the precinct were busy fighting back the Fakes. Ryan and Michael were favouring their machine guns to cut the pigs down; Gavin, Jeremy, and Geoff choosing to stay behind cover and fire from afar. Jack and Matt stood further down the road, they were in front of a running cargobob.

Jack noticed the three appear from the police precinct and beckoned them towards her and Matt. They covered the trio as they ran behind the cops. They didn’t waste any time, and climbed into the chopper.

Jack yelled into her comms to Geoff. “We got ‘em. Keep the pigs off us.” Jack piled into the pilot’s seat and took off.

“I leave for ten minutes,” Matt said, a smile creeping onto his face. The other three laughed back.

“Good to see you, too,” Lindsay replied.

Jack called from other her shoulder. “Geoff wants to talk to you back at the penthouse once we get back. Better get your story straight, he wants to know everything.”

Alfredo glanced at Trevor, but quickly returned his attention back to the city beneath them. They remained in silence until Jack had landed the chopper. She stole a car for them all, drenched the cargobob in gasoline, and when they were far away enough she shot at it, blowing it to pieces. They rode back to the penthouse and waited in the lounge for the others to return.

Geoff was the last of the crew to get back, he walked into his office and shut the door behind him. Five minutes later he pulled the Support Crew in.

“I’m gonna cut to the chase,” he said

“Lovely seeing you, Geoff,” Lindsay joked.

Geoff glared at her. “You four are good. I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think you could keep your ties to the crew hidden, you’ve done that for a few years now. But somehow the cops still found you, and I know it wasn’t because the LSPD are suddenly geniuses. So, there’s only two scenarios that are possible. First, somebody in this crew is a snitch. They ratted you out to the cops for something in return from the cops.” Geoff studied each of the crew. “I doubt it was on my side,” he added.

Trevor stood forward. “No offense but I know my crew better than you, Geoff,” Trevor said. “I trust them with my life. No one here would betray us or what we’ve all worked for. We’re loyal to the Fakes.”

Geoff nodded. “Fine,” he replied. “Then the second scenario is that one of you fucked up. You made a mistake and it blew up in you face. I have a feeling you know who you are. So I’m giving you this one opportunity to come forward.”

Silence took the room. Lindsay and Matt were eyeing each other, having no idea what Geoff was talking about. Trevor, still standing just in front of the others, could see Alfredo from the corner of his eye, start to admit his mistake.

But before he could, Trevor interjected.

“It was my fault, Geoff,” he said boldly.

“Are you sure?” Geoff asked.

Trevor nodded. “The cop who interrogated me let it slip that they tracked me back to the house. They must have bugged me during my last heist. They would have waited for the right moment in order to get us all.”

Alfredo stared wildly at Trevor, so stunned he couldn’t correct him. Trevor was taking the fall for him, for him; the newbie of the crew. He was risking everything he had for Alfredo.

Geoff sighed, disappointment clear on his face.

“You could have cost us everything today. Imagine what would have happened if the pigs got hold of any more information about us. This whole operation could have been burnt to the ground. All because of you’re stupid, idiotic behaviour. I can’t believe that of all people, you were this reckless.”

Trevor only nodded, forcing himself to meet Geoff’s death stare. Whatever punishment he was expecting, the next words from Geoff’s mouth visibly shocked him.

“Stay away from the crew for a while. Until I sort this shit out, you are to have no contact with anyone from this crew. We can’t risk them finding us. Understand?”

Trevor’s mouth was hanging open, but he quickly closed it and nodded in confirmation. With a tired wave of Geoff’s tattooed hand, the Support Crew filed out of his office.

Trevor couldn’t bare to meet any of the Fakes’ eyes as he walked straight out the penthouse front door for what might have been the last time.

#fahc #achievement hunter #fake achievement hunter crew #trevor collins #alfredo diaz #lindsay jones #matt bragg #geoff ramsey #jack pattillo #michael jones #gavin free #ryan haywood #jeremy dooley

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: http://teethhunter.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://thehorseshowgay.tumblr.com

Summery: Who would want a killer as a soul mate? Ryan asked himself every time he saw his mark. All he could hope for was his match was happy without him, that they would never meet.

Warnings: Minor mentions of wounds, panic attacks

Word Count: 3158

Ryan’s just out of high school the first time he kills a man. It was a sloppy, bloody affair really and he doesn’t feel even a twinge of regret for it though he knows he’s supposed to. His hands are shaking but not from remorse, rather the after effects of a pleasant adrenaline rush. In fact he feels fantastic up until the moment he peels his bloodied shirt off to shower and catches a glance at himself in the mirror. The mark on his shoulder was as bold and stationary as ever. He had never taken into consideration this possibility; really his soul mate was the last thing on his mind when he sliced through a man.

See, soul mate marks weren’t immovable permanent things. People are capable of change even to such a degree that a person that once would have brought out the best in them no longer do. Not only that, but people can die and people can turn so sour to the world that all they want to do is cause harm. Marks are as malleable as a human soul itself is. Some people’s mark with reform a multitude of times in their life where some stay static until the day they die. Even still there were some whose mark never stayed in one form, an ever shifting amorphous blob. That is what Ryan fully expects to see in the mirror, a swirling shape that never stills. Yet it’s the same shape as always and it’s making him sick to his stomach to look at.

~~~

Jeremy is one hundred and fifty job applications, a year’s worth of customer service work, and thousands of dollars of student debt deep into hell. Half dead from a slew of fifteen hour shifts, he finally got a day off. He spent this rare break with his friend Matt; though they worked at the same store they rarely saw each other between rushing around making up for the sorely understaffed lines. Surrounded by mountain of takeout boxes and a few open two liter bottles they played Halo in relative silence, after days upon days of forced social interaction neither of them wanted to talk just for the sake of talking. So when Matt spoke it very nearly startled him.

“We’re gonna die being screamed at about expired coupons and cleaning up spilled cereal, aren’t we?” Matt’s eyes were still fixed on the TV as he spoke.

“I mean… it’s not how I want to go but right now it’s looking like that or dying on the streets instead,” Jeremy shrugged, maybe it was just exhaustion but the idea of that life brought nothing but apathy today.

“Just want stable money, time to get some sleep, and maybe someday time to find whoever has a matching mark,”

“Around here you’d have to be a hit man to live a life like that,”

“Let’s do it,” Matt suggested, glancing at Jeremy. He couldn’t decide if it was a joke or not. “I mean, for all the cynical shit you’re saying right now I know you’re actually starry eyed and dreaming about that right?”

They might have been joking around, but Matt’s words rang true on more than one level. For one, in a city teeming with criminals it was clear to see that could be the easier way to make a living. Jeremy kept up with the news of crew activity, not out of fear for himself but out of some morbid curiosity. He never once mentioned it to anyone but he may or may not have been just a bit of a fanboy of Fake AH, their new and creative ways of wreaking havoc were strangely exhilarating to read about.

Then there was the second bit of what Matt was talking about, secure life, happily living with a soul mate, all that idealist stuff. Jeremy wanted to claim he didn’t think too much about it. He didn’t want to be one of those weirdos that devoted their whole lives to finding their match only to discover their soul mate wasn’t into the idea at all. But hope was persistent and about as easy to crush as a boulder. He couldn’t help imagining what it’d be like. He never ventured to guess what they might look like, or even gender. Still, he could imagine someone he felt safe with, someone he could joke with, where trust was just intrinsic and where things just worked.

Jeremy paused the game, giving no explanation. He thought about it for a second before tugging on the neck of his shirt to show the mark on his shoulder, staring at it for a long moment. He didn’t have any problem letting Matt see it, he didn’t particularly care if anyone saw it actually.

“It’s been the same shape my whole life. I dunno man, think whoever my soul mate is would be cool with me living a life of crime?” He joked.

~~~

A year and a half later Jeremy’s no longer working in Retail Hell. He’s running prep jobs for heist by the very crew he used to admire from afar. It’s not glamorous but it pays well enough he can move into a better apartment and adopt a cat and not worry about food. He and Matt didn’t become hit men like they once joked about but they both slipped into the life of crime easily. Turns out Jeremy had a real knack for this stuff and a flair for the dramatic that fit right in with the crew. The longer he stayed on, the more he got to talk with the main crew. He could dogpile onto their teasing bullying, and take his lumps when the teasing turned on him. Much to Gavin’s glee, Jeremy would take any bet thrown at him regardless the price set on it.

It was a surprise to no one but Jeremy himself the day that Geoff offered him a spot in the main crew.

What was a surprise to everyone however was how well he clicked with Ryan.

It started small, with Ryan’s willingness to take off his mask around Jeremy. Then little things like making sure Jeremy was actually okay after some of the more wild and demanding bets, or kind hellos when he walked in the room and taking Jeremy’s side when the typical teasing picked up. Soon enough it was more than that, any partnered job they worked together on. Ryan got quicker and quicker to move to Jeremy’s side when they had to pair up. As it turned out Jeremy had bloodlust to match Ryan’s. They were Battle Buddies through and through.

~~~

Ryan has shown his mark willingly to exactly one person since he was seventeen years old. He wasn’t the quickest to trust people and was shier than he’d ever admit. He held the heavy weight of knowing he was too screwed up to deserve anyone. Fake AH were the first people to ever break through the wall he built up, after all they were all remarkably screwed up too. So he built tentative connections with them, laughed with them, played their silly games, even eventually taking his mask off around them. Still some things were off limits, physically he kept his distance, and anytime soul mate marks were mentioned he left the room.

The first person to see his mark wasn’t in the crew at all.

Bars generally weren’t Ryan’s favorite place to be, but every other Friday he went to a different one. It wasn’t for the drinks or the atmosphere, yet there he sat in a dimly lit and busy bar on a Friday night. It was five minutes later when someone took a seat right next to him, he didn’t need look to see who it was. As per usual, before even greeting him Meg ordered him a Diet Coke, and herself an actual cocktail.

“Want to give any drinks a try tonight, big guy?” She asked Ryan. They came here to people watch, find any fun leads to follow or useful information. But along with that they had a long standing game of seeing if there were any alcoholic drinks he actually liked. So far one ice cream based drink and fruity champagne were the only ones he deemed tolerable.

Ryan shook his head. "No thanks. Spare me the torture. You’re on a streak of picking the ickiest ones,”

“Aw, you’re no fun Rye,”

Ryan rolled his eyes, but even his face concealed he surely was smiling. He knew she wasn’t actually pressuring him into it.

They’d been casually watching people and chatting for an hour when the topic changed in a way Ryan dreaded.

“You have any idea who your soul mate is?” The question had him freezing up and glancing at the nearest exit, calculating possible escapes.

Meg noticed his reaction, but took it in stride. “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.” She winked jokingly, frowning when he remained frozen.

“Hey it’s okay. What, are you afraid you’ll actually show your soul mate it?” For as distant as he liked to try to be, maybe that made sense that he’d be afraid. His slight nod confirmed it.

“Okay, here then.” She turned, lifting her shirt slightly to show the mark on her hip. “Not matching right? So you’ve got nothing to worry about,” The way his shoulders relaxed told her she’d been right to do this. “Though we could totally go to one of those psychics that do mark readings, they can just tell us we were meant to be best friends,”

“You know those are a hoax.” At least he was calm enough to bicker again.

“Still’s fun though. But I guess we don’t need them to tell us what we already know.”

“I’ll… show you, just not here okay?”

Meg was the first person to see Ryan’s mark and the first person to understand that he feared for the day he met his match.

It was the first time Ryan admitted to himself that he was scared.

~~~

Everything was okay between Ryan and Jeremy until it wasn’t. Battle Buddies were going strong, and then there was the job that went all wrong. They were laid out on the side of the road, both worse for wear but Ryan was holding onto consciousness a whole lot better than Jeremy was. He rolled over onto his knees and inched his way over to Jeremy, things didn’t look good. There were pieces of shrapnel littering his body and a concerning amount of blood pooling up. Ryan did whatever he could, ripping away what was left of Jeremy’s shirt to try and find the worst source of the bleeding. For a split second his eyes rested on that oh so familiar mark on Jeremy’s shoulder and his blood ran could. No, he couldn’t think about this right now, this was a problem for another time, if ever there would be another time.

Jeremy couldn’t figure out what he did wrong. Ryan wouldn’t even look in his direction anymore. At first it just made Jeremy antsy, he tried to tell himself he was being paranoid, Ryan must just need his space he tried to tell himself. But then anytime Jeremy walked into the room, Ryan would walk right out regardless of what he was in the middle of.

The third time it happened the lads and Ryan were the penthouse squabbling over a game when Jeremy walked in. Ryan froze, almost mechanically dropping his controller, standing up and walking out of the room.

“What’d you do him?” Gavin asked, squeaking when that question earned him an elbow to the ribs from Michael.

Jeremy crumpled, the mountain of paranoia and guilt that’d been building up toppled over on him. Some days it was hard to believe anyone in the crew liked him, though those days happened less and less as he established himself as one of them. Now all that fear came flooding back, did any of them even like him? Had Ryan just been keeping up pretenses the entire time and was sick of him now?

Michael was quick to put an arm around Jeremy, dragging him over to the couch. “Hey, don’t listen to him. Ryan’s just being a moody dick, you know how he gets.”

“Yeah… didn’t mean that, bet he’s just making a whole stink. I mean he spent a month shooting me with BBs every time I walked in the room, he’s just got odd ideas right?” Gavin wasn’t the most reassuring but he tried, wrapping an arm around Jeremy as while to pile up on them.

~~~

It doesn’t get worse. In fact there are brief moments where Jeremy thinks things are getting better between the two of them again. When Ryan stops running out of the room at the very sight of him, or when actually makes eye contact with Jeremy again. But it doesn’t get any better than that for months.

Four months later they’re partnered together for a job once again. It’s absolutely Geoff’s doing, he’s sick of seeing this miserable, passive fight going on. Ryan was stiff as a board and all the worry Jeremy had been combating for months crept back up on him. Neither of them could keep this up.

They drove in silence; as much as Jeremy wanted to turn on the radio and drown it all out he just dug his nails into his palm instead. When they parked it was suddenly all too much for him, he finally broke.

“What’s going on with you, man?”

Ryan didn’t respond, he gripped the steering wheel tighter even though they were motionless.

“Did I do something, did I say something, what?”

Still there was no response.

“I don’t understand what I did wrong,”

“Nothing it’s-it’s nothing. Let’s just do our job,” Ryan got out of the car, slamming the door on his way out. At least Jeremy couldn’t see his face.

Ryan had been caught in a whirlwind of panicked thoughts for months. He had never wanted to find his soul mate, no one should have to be his soul mate. Yet here his match was, and strangely, painfully, it all made sense. They fit together so well. Ryan couldn’t deny how terrified he’d been when he thought Jeremy might die, or how he practically melted anytime he heard the other laugh even now when things were so tense, hearing Jeremy from a distance did things to Ryan. It really did make sense. Here was someone in the same line of work as him, someone who got the same thrill from the kill and from the destruction left behind. They were both messed up, but that didn’t make this any easier after years of telling himself he wasn’t worth it.

They hardly said a word to each other during the job. It was tense up until the moment things turned into a big and bloody fight. There was no room for tension between them then, they were in their element and for the first time in months felt right in standing side by side.

“Starting to look like Battle Buddies are bad luck huh? Second time in a row we got caught.” Jeremy laughed as he said that, favoring his left side a little where he definitely had a few bruised ribs.

Ryan looked worse, he had a nasty slash across his torso, and though mostly superficial it still bled a fair bit. To Jeremy’s surprise, he actually chuckled though.

“We’re both conscious though, that’s a plus.”

“Not for long if you let that keep bleeding. You should probably get that shirt off. It’s got other people’s blood on it, not exactly what you want in an open wound.” The shirt was pretty much in tatters anyways, practically falling off of Ryan. In fact… no, Jeremy told himself he was seeing things, that the adrenaline high was making him jittery and weird because he could have sworn he saw…

Ryan’s hand immediately covered the exposed mark with a rushed slap that had to have stung.

Maybe he wasn’t hallucinating after all, Jeremy thought. That was the last thought he had before crossing the few feet distance between the two of them and wrenching Ryan’s hand away to get a clear look. He was shaking, staring at the twin of his own mark, momentarily unaware that Ryan was frozen in panic.

“You knew,” It wasn’t an accusation, but rather like Jeremy was thinking out loud. Suddenly his shock and wonder turned sour.

“Why didn’t you just say something? If you don’t believe in the marks, if you didn’t want to be with me then you could’ve just said it! You didn’t need to hate me for it.”

“I don- I didn’t- I… can’t breathe,” There was no escape and Ryan didn’t know what to do.

Concern tempered Jeremy’s hurt and anger somewhat. Taking inventory of the situation he could say this could be going better; they were standing in an alleyway, both injured, and Ryan was having a panic attack.

“Okay, uh, let’s just get back to the car, kay?” Jeremy’s words were softer now, putting a hand on Ryan’s back he lead the way to where they’d parked.

He grabbed a towel from the trunk for Ryan to put pressure on his wound. This time he took the driver’s seat and this time he turned on the radio. He didn’t speak for a long time, not until Ryan’s breathing was slow and even, and not until he was sure he could speak without sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

“I’m sorry. Y’know for getting grabby there, making you show me it when you didn’t want to,”

There’s a long moment where only radio ads fill the silence before Ryan speaks. “I’m bad at this. I don’t hate you.”

“What’s going on then?”

“I shouldn’t have a mark.”

Jeremy turned then, half climbing out of his seat to lean over Ryan. “If you’re seriously implying that because of your job you don’t deserve someone I’m going to lose it I swear. Because hi, I’m Jeremy Dooley, I kill for a living too, I enjoy it, and oh hey, I’m also your soul mate would you look at that?”

Ryan laughed weakly to himself, taking his mask off. Hearing that out loud grounded him. “Is it better if I just say I’m scared?” There wasn’t a lie in that, he was trying to smile but he looked terrified.

“If you’ll stop running, yeah man, I can work with that. We can leave digging into what scares you for another day, but I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m sorry for all of that. I won’t run.” Ryan hesitated before snaking his arms around Jeremy for a hug. It probably caused more pain than would normally be worth it with Jeremy’s ribs and Ryan’s gash, but right now neither of them cared.

#Ragehappy #Jeremwood #teethhunter #thehorseshowgay #rhss17

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burpeetales · 7 years

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Burpee's Lil Headcanons #7

Everyone has their place in the city.

Alongside their homes outside of the penthouse (a story for another time), everyone’s got their own little haven to go when being a criminal gets to be a little too much.

Geoff has two places, actually:

One is a library. When his private library at the penthouse became a little too crowded, and the crew was tired of tripping over stacks of unread paperbacks, Geoff decided maybe it was time to clean house. So he found a run down library in East LS, anonymously donated enough to refurbish the place and keep it afloat for several years, and decided this was his place. He funneled a few hundred books onto its shelves, some from his personal collection, but most from different odds and ends. He set a schedule for himself, against whatever jobs he may have in the words: every other Sunday, he heads down to read to kids in an after-school program, and every opposite Wednesday, he goes in to teach underprivileged adults how to read. The other is a little farm. Set back in the Tataviam Mountain range, the family who owned the land were once close allies with the Roosters, and were happy to allow an old friend sit with their chickens for a few days while they were out of town. And so now, once a month for three or four days, Geoff will disappear to his little chicken farm, filled with happy hens and roosters and chicks, and his favorite (though he’d never tell the other birds), a one eyed goose named Beatrix.The penthouse is always supplied with fresh eggs, much to Jack’s delight, though no ones sure where the eggs come from.

Ryan is the only other person with two places:

It’s a little floral boutique in Vespucci, run by a tiny blind lady in her late 70′s. It was a funny story, really. He blundered into the place, bleeding and on high alert, with multiple police squadrons on his case. Without even asking, she ushered him into the back office and continued to redirect the pigs down the road. Since then, Ryan can be found, hair tied back and thin framed glasses perched on his nose, sweeping up fallen leaves and dust, or behind the counter setting up different bouquets. He’s always rewarded the extras that don’t sell (despite his protests) and every Thursday, she comes in with fresh baked goods. She doesn’t ask about his other life, but will sometimes bring in enough goodies for the whole crew. She’s one of the only people not to openly question the other two and will sometimes give gifts to them as well. Ryan’s always thankful for her. The other place really isn't a place, considering it’s a part of his home, but he still claims it to be his safe haven anyways. Its an underground gun storage unit, literally in his basement. It’s his own collection, and he spends a little too long sitting down their cleaning them all.

Gavin’s got a shelter he funnels all the strays he brings home into. It was Geoff’s idea, so the lad would stop fucking bringing home kittens every other fucking day. Like, seriously Gavin, we don’t even own a litter box where is it gonna shit? Sometimes when he disappears, he goes there, just to sit in the sunlight and pet all the kitties he brought in. He’s always happy when he gets word that another one wa adopted. Sometimes the Golden Boy himself will be spotted trotting down the street, gold sunglasses perched on his nose, five or six leashes wrapped around his wrists. If the sight of Ramsey’s fool wasn’t enough, the sight of five German Shepherds and a Corgi attached to him really does the trick.

Jack’s place had always been sort of an enigma. No one ever knew where she went when she left the apartment not brandishing her usual gaudy floral print. But of course, it didn’t take long for the Lads to find out what their friend was hiding. What they weren't expecting though, was acres (at least four football fields worth) worth of fruits and vegetables and bright flowers that couldn’t be native to Los Santos and greenhouses and is that butterflies? Gavin nearly fell out of the chopper and into the large fountain below when the trio spotted ‘Pattillo’ written in bright orange roses. Needless to say, Geoff and Ryan didn’t it either until Ray pulled up the pictures he took. Shortly after, the apartment starts getting stocked with fruits and vegetables, and the crew learns just how great of a cook Jack is. The penthouse is soon littered with different arrangements as well. To this day, no one is allowed to step foot inside Jack’s garden.

Jeremy’s got a gym downtown, next door to Matt’s mechanic shop, where he teaches kids how to fight. It’s his attempt at keeping them from the underground rings. He knows all too well what it’s like down there, and he doesn’t want theses kids finding the same fate if he can help it. He and Michael can be found there a lot, practicing and sparing and holding little competitions with the kids

Michael’s got an opposing gym to Lil J, nestled on the other side of Little Seoul. He trains a lot of adults, like minded people that share the same anger deep in their veins. Michael refuses to train kids, his tactics are a but too unorthodoxed for them, so he’ll shoo them down the road to Jeremy. His gym also stands as a gateway for explosives making their way in and out of the city.

Trevor (predictably) is infamous for lounging around coffee shops, but his favorite one is one nestled in a lofty building in Vespucci. What started as a few late night coffee runs turned into him practically owning the place. The owner doesn't mind of course, the kid keeps his shop running (between his large purchases and his “anonymous” investments, not to mention that he always leaves at least a ten dollar tip). After the fourth or fifth time of him staying well past four am, the owners just gave him a spare and aren't alarmed when his form is seen slumped over the counter, passed out and surrounded by numerous paper cups.

Cause you know, they may be criminals, but they’re not soulless.

#fahc #fake ah crew #fahc geoff #fahc ryan #fahc jack #fahc gents #fahc michael #fahc gavin #fahc jeremy #fahc lads #fahc trevor #poor trevor isn't a lad or a gent #gta au

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Best Comics of the Decade

https://ift.tt/368Hmgo

We've read a TON of great comics in the last 10 years, and we picked out the 100 best for you to passionately disagree with.

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What a century this last decade has been.

Seriously, the pace of change over the last 10 years has been steadily rising, and has been somewhere between “dangerous” and “murderous” for the last 3, and that isn’t just about geopolitics: the comics world of today is certainly recognizable to a time traveller from 2010, but it would look extremely weird.

- Webcomics and medium press publishers are EVERYWHERE now.

- Marvel has embraced multiple restarts of its line.

- DC has rebooted its universe at least twice.

- Comics are for kids again.

- Nerds rule culture, for all that’s good and bad.

These changes have been catalysts for some very, very good comic books, and we wanted to give you a list of some of our favorites. Here are a few guiding principles to our list:

I am one person who can’t possibly read everything. There’s some stuff that won’t be on this list because I didn’t have time to get to it. Please share what was missed in the comments!

It’s also an exercise in opinion! I didn’t want to be redundant and talk about the same creators or characters over and over again, though there are some repeats. I ranked these according to what I enjoyed, and not some externally objective measure of what is the finest art. If anything, I’m biased towards what was interesting - books that have stuck with me for years, stuff I still think about or reread or recommend. That said, for longer runs like Scott Snyder’s Batman or Criminal, I tried to pick arcs that were symbolic of the entire run, or the best stories within a bigger picture.

And finally, it’s imperfect. I’ve been fiddling with a good chunk of this list for a month and a half, and every time I look, I realize something I forgot, or something I could move, or something that shouldn’t be ranked lower than something else. But ultimately, I’m pretty happy with everything here, and I’m willing to bet you’ll find something interesting you’ve never considered before in it, even if I’ve missed a few glaring stories.

With that in mind, Den of Geek is proud to unveil our empirically sound, objective, and absolute BEST COMICS OF THE 2010S

100. Batman & Robin

Pete Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz (DC Comics)

Tomasi and Gleason’s run never got the attention it deserved because it ran alongside huge ones - Grant Morrison’s Batman and Batman Inc.��to start, and Scot Snyder and Greg Capullo’s monster New 52 series later. But I might like this one more: Tomasi writes hands down the best Damian Wayne I’ve ever read, and Gleason and Gray do bulky, shadowy Bat people perfectly. The high point is an issue around the middle of this run, post-Damian’s death but before he came back, when Batman is teaming up with Two-Face, and it might be my favorite single issue of Batman of all time. It’s such a perfect take on Two-Face that I come back to it every couple of years. Give this era of Batman a shot, I bet you love it.

read Batman & Robin on Amazon

99. Black Science

Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, Moreno Dionisio (Image Comics)

Black Science is a comic full of Rick Remender’s fears and worries. Scalera and Dionisio turn them into bright, colorful, wildly creative visuals as Grant McKay bounced around the Eververse trying to find a way at first to express his anarcho-scientistism, and then to save his family. It wrapped up earlier this year, and Remender and the team did an elegant job landing the plane on one of the best books from a wave of big name creator owned books that launched back in 2014.

read Black Science on Amazon

98. Black

Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Jamal Igle, Khary Randolph (Black Mask Studios)

Osajyefo, Smith, Igle and cover artist Khary Randolph’s comic about what would happen in a world where only black people got superpowers stripped the “mutant” part from “the mutant metaphor” and also the “metaphor” part, and gave us a story about black people being treated like exploitable resources by the US government. Igle’s black and white art was terrific, and the story is rough when you explain the plot, but rougher when it plays out on the page in front of you.

read Black on Amazon

97. Assassin Nation

Kyle Starks, Erica Henderson (Image Comics)

Starks and Henderson are both gifted comics creators on their own. Pairing them together gave us something beautiful - a book that’s about the world’s greatest assassins banding together to fight for their lives. It’s got unique characters with distinct voices and ridiculous, over the top action.

read Assassin Nation on Amazon

96. Boundless

Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Time has sped up immensely in the last three years. Things that feel momentus happen and are forgotten four hours later. Trends are microtrends, fads are localized without geography, and entire 24-hour news cycles are compressed to the space between weathers on the 1s. So it’s really weird how a collection of in-the-moment short comics drawn (presumably) in 2016 feels extremely relevant and timely now. Tamaki takes a bunch of quick stories - about a mirror Facebook that shows you what might be in a parallel world; a Twilight Zone-esque cultural phenomenon mp3; a porn sitcom from the ‘90s gaining more than a cult following 25 years later - and uses the characters to say something interesting about them or us or our world. It’s a great book.

read Boundless on Amazon

95. Imperium

Joshua Dysart, Doug Brathwaite, Scot Eaton, Cafu, Khari Evans, Ulisses Ariola (Valiant Entertainment)

Toyo Harada is a underratedly great villain, and Imperium is the story of him trying to impose his will on the world. Valiant books have, since their return early this decade, been pretty tightly intertwined, but most of their central narrative has revolved around Harada. He’s a great choice for that. He’s as big an egomaniac as Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom, but he’s got the benefit of operating in a world where the political rules are more like those of ours, which enhances everything good and bad about his character. Dysart and the art team give us an outstanding story about megalomania here.

read Imperium on Amazon

94. X-Men: Second Coming

Matt Fraction, Zeb Wells, Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, David Finch, Terry Dodson, Greg Land, Mike Choi, Ibraim Roberson, Rachel Dodson, Sonia Oback (Marvel Comics)

Second Coming is the payoff to my favorite era of X-Men books so far, the Messiah Era. It starts out blazingly fast, and then plays out over the course of 14 issues and somehow speeds up as it goes along. It’s a straight up summer blockbuster action movie in comic form that does an excellent job blending voices, art styles and ongoing plots with the overall narrative of the crossover without losing any momentum.

read X-Men: Second Coming on Amazon

93. Ultimates 2

Al Ewing, Travel Foreman, Christian Ward, Dan Brown (Marvel Comics)

Al Ewing is well on his way to stardom because of how good The Immortal Hulk is, but the cool kids all knew where he was going after he teamed up with Foreman and Ward to tell a story about the self-aware multiverse and cosmic entities of the Marvel universe in The Ultimates/Ultimates 2. This book is weird and gorgeous, and even if it leaned towards implying some big changes for the greater Marvel cosmology without ever seeing those changes bear fruit, it was still a terrific story on its own right.

read Ultimates 2 on Amazon

92. Adventure Time

Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb (BOOM! Studios)

A licensed property like Adventure Time is tough to get right. The cartoon is so inventive that even if you match what shows up on the screen, it’s still just a pale shadow because the creativeness of the ideas is the point. So it was a huge surprise when the comic nailed it - it was every bit as wild as the show, only it also captured the voices of the characters perfectly and delighted in being a comic in a way that made it a celebration of the medium. This was the first time North managed to get rollover text into a printed comic, and it works, man.

read Adventure Time on Amazon

91. The Divine

Boaz Lavie, Asaf Hanuka, Tomer Hanuka (First Second)

The Hanukas do two things really, really well in The Divine. They do great scale shifts. The camera zooms from pulling in really close on an eye about to bleed to pulling waaaay back to show giant beasts roving what looks like a fantasy countryside, and each decision about where to put the camera serves the story well. And the coloring adds to the surrealness of the story. It’s bright and full of greens and pinks almost to the point of being disorienting, which is I think the goal of that palette choice. The story is excellent too, about Burmese (or I guess Myanmarese now) child soldiers defending the land of their gods from resource extractors.

read The Divine on Amazon

90. Ivar, Timewalker

Fred Van Lente, Clayton Henry, Brian Reber (Valiant Entertainment)

Ivar is surprisingly emotional and a ton of fun. Tonally, it’s one of the most distinct Valiant comics - it threads the needle of Quantum & Woody comedy, X-O Manowar high adventure and Eternal Warrior mythmaking. Van Lente takes pieces from all of those genres and knits them together with a ton of humor to make a super entertaining comic. What’s not to like about a book that starts with the main character throwing up his arms and shouting “LET’S KILL HITLER!”?

read Ivar, Timewalker on Amazon

89. Virgil

Steve Orlando, JD Faith, Chris Beckett, Tom Mauer (Image Comics)

What I liked most about Virgil is how little it felt like Orlando and Faith were shading the story. It’s simultaneously about how reprehensible Jamaica is towards gay people; crooked cops; and a love story; and a revenge story, and no one aspect overrules the others. Virgil is a dirty cop in Jamaica and also a gay man who loses his love and goes on a rampage. Every part of the story is given equal attention, and the final result is really, really good comics.

read Virgil on Amazon

88. Memetic

James Tynion IV, Eryk Donovan (BOOM! Studios)

It’s shocking how prescient Memetic feels. It’s genuinely creepy horror work from Tynion and Donovan, but it’s also about a meme and the homogenization of culture, and it landed like, 3 years before those ideas really penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. Donovan’s art manages the tricky feat of nailing the genuine horror of the situation, from the shock on the characters’ faces to the gross-out body horror later in the book, but it’s also genuinely funny at times. That damn sloth meme has been stuck in my head for five years.

read Memetic on Amazon

87. The Manhattan Projects

Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra, Jordie Bellaire (Image Comics)

Some books need long explanations to justify inclusion on a best books of the decade list. Some just need you to say “Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein gun down a space station full of FDRobots.” Guess which one Manhattan Projects is.

read The Manhattan Projects on Amazon

86. O.M.A.C.

Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, Scott Koblish, Hi-Fi (DC Comics)

O.M.A.C. is secretly the best New 52 launch title. Honestly, though, this book is and will always be an underrated gem: it’s DiDio, Giffen, and Koblish trying to do Jack Kirby with modern sensibilities. And it’s extremely, beautifully Kirby in so many different ways. I can’t believe it worked.

read OMAC on Amazon

85. All-New Wolverine

Tom Taylor, David Lopez, David Navarrot, Nathan Fairbairn (Marvel Comics)

One of the best X-Men comics from the last ten years is also one of the most unexpected: it’s a Marvel book that steals DC’s traditional schtick about how to be a great legacy hero. Laura Kinney takes over Logan’s mask after her clonefather dies, and decides to make it a more outwardly and publicly superheroic mantle. Spoilers: she’s GREAT at it. Taylor gives her real growth as a character, and uses the best new character of the last 10 years (Jonathan the Wolverine and also Scout nee Honey Badger) to great effect. I was stunned at how much I loved this comic.

read All-New Wolverine on Amazon

84. Assassination Classroom

Yusei Matsui (Viz Media)

I’m not sure how I would briefly describe this book, and that’s part of why I love it. A monster destroys ¾ of the moon and says more is coming. But he gives mankind an out: Kill him inside of a year, and he’ll leave them alive. Then, and this is where it gets nuts, he takes over as homeroom teacher for a group of misfit teenagers and starts teaching them how to kill him. It’s basically Bad News Bears with a little more murder and some great manga art from Matsui.

read Assassination Classroom on Amazon

83. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack (Archie Comics)

The best thing about Chilling Adventures of Sabrina isn’t that it spawned a great TV adaptation on Netflix. The best thing about it is how faithful to the comic the TV adaptation is. Part of Archie’s horror renaissance, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a genre anachronism that revels in its horror story trappings and delights in placing wholesome Archie characters in it. It’s drawn well and smart and a lot of fun from start to finish.

read Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Amazon

82. Uber

Kieron Gillen, Canaan White, Digikore Studios (Avatar Press)

Early on in Uber’s run, Gillen recommended Antony Beevor’s comprehensive history of World War II as something he leaned on heavily when constructing this book. It shows: Uber reads like a military history, rather than your typical comic about “What if they had super powers in World War II?” The supersoldiers are treated like any other military technology - resources to be deployed, depleted, exploited and overcome. This is probably the most interesting treatment of super powers I’ve seen in a comic in the decade.

read Uber on Amazon

81. The Spire

Si Spurrier, Jeff Stokely, Andre May (BOOM! Studios)

Simon Spurrier does two things better than almost anyone in comics: he chooses incredible artists to work with, and he (and the artists) put together some stunning worlds for their characters to live in. The Spire is a murder mystery set in a fantasy city with a rigid class structure, and he and Stokely make a city that I felt immersed in immediately upon starting the book. One other thing Spurrier and crew do really well: wreck their main characters and break your heart, and The Spire is some of his best work.

read The Spire on Amazon

80. Aliens: Dead Orbit

James Stokoe (Dark Horse Comics)

James Stokoe could have drawn 100 pages of character models and it would be on this list. He’s an incredible artist who draws incredibly detailed everything. Everything! Rubble. Ribcages. Control panels. Inner mandibles. Giving him an Aliens book is the no-brainer of no-brainers - this is what HR Geiger would have drawn if he was raised on anime.

read Aliens: Dead Orbit on Amazon

79. Shade the Changing Girl

Cecil Catellucci, Marley Zarcone, Kelly Fitzpatrick (DC Comics)

It takes a really gifted eye to see the absurdity in everyday life and expose that to your readers with only a modest tweak to reality. Zarcone and Castellucci use dropping Rac Shade’s madness vest and Loma the alien bird into the body of a comatose mean girl as their way to show just how silly teenage life can be, and it’s beautiful. Shade the Changing Girl and its follow up, Shade the Changing Woman, both do magnificent work of using insanity to take you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

read Shade the Changing Girl on Amazon

78. Wuvable Oaf

Ed Luce (Fantagraphics)

I think the best part about Wuvable Oaf, the indie book about black metal San Francisco bears is just how nice it is. It’s a really sweet, funny courtship story about an ex-underground wrestler starting a relationship with a small, blood-drenched metal singer. I find myself recommending this book to a surprising amount of people.

read Wuvable Oaf on Amazon

77. Upgrade Soul

Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge Comics)

Ezra Claytan Daniels went for messed up, twisty sci fi right out of the gate, and it was a home run. Upgrade Soul is an ugly body modification story about trying to prolong one’s life unnaturally, and what happens if that’s not all really well thought out beforehand. It’s drawn really well: even now, the scene with the gauze coming off layer by layer, the pacing of it and the skill of setting that sequence up, is amazing.

read Upgrade Soul on Amazon

76. Strong Female Protagonist

Brennan Lee Mulligan, Molly Ostertag

“What if superheroes were real” is usually an exceptionally stupid premise for a comic, but there are plenty of ridiculous components to the superhero conceit that are worth examining. One of them is the value of superheroing - does flying around punching shit really actually fix anything? In Strong Female Protagonist, Alison Green asks that question, decides it doesn’t, and quits capes for college and activism in New York. This is a great story well told, but what I enjoy about it now is how New York it feels. It’s a really thoughtful take on superheroing, but it’s also a really good story that transports you to an age and a place.

read Strong Female Protagonist here

75. Journey Into Mystery

Kieron Gillen, Doug Brathwaite, Ulises Ariola & others (Marvel Comics)

Journey Into Mystery shouldn’t have been successful. Loki wasn’t quite at the height of his powers yet, and while he was getting there, even now he can’t really carry his own book. It was also a legacy numbered relaunch coming out of a big summer crossover event. And yet, Kieron managed to take new kid Loki and use him to tell a story about stories and fate and myth that stands up there with some of the greatest Asgard stories ever told. What he does with the trickster god is actually sad and moving (and also generally hilarious - he writes a really fun Loki). it It’s one of my favorite things he’s ever written.

read Journey Into Mystery on Amazon

74. Kinski

Gabriel Hardman (Monkeybrain Comics)

Sometimes, a comic is just plain good. Sometimes, a comic prominently features the GOODEST BOY on a cover. Sometimes, as is the case with Kinski, a comic does both. Hardman is a master of the form, and Kinski is one of his most underrated works. It’s the story of a guy bored with his life and trying to save a black lab puppy - not especially complicated or deep, but enough to hook me in, especially with the VERY GOOD BOY on the cover. But his art is magnificent. It’s black and white, and Hardman uses just about every inking style and manner to help tell the story. It’s virtuoso stuff. I loved it.

read Kinski on Amazon

73. The Sheriff of Babylon

Tom King, Mitch Gerads (Vertigo Comics)

With a list like this, sometimes it’s not the full sweep of a story that gets it on, but the remembered moments. I’ve seen King and Gerads work together a hundred times since then (or at least it feels like that - time has no meaning anymore). It’s all been spectacular, but the scene with Chris and Fatima in the Saddam’s old pool sharing a bottle of vodka talking about pointlessness still stands out hard for me. The Sheriff of Babylon has gotten better with age, and it started out really, really good.

read The Sheriff of Babylon on Amazon

72. Genius

Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman, Afua Richardson (Image Comics)

If you call a book Genius, it damn well better be brilliant. Fortunately for us, it was. Bernardin, Freeman and Richardson told us the story of Destiny, a precocious and brilliant military mind born into South Central and using her strategic genius to bring down the corrupt cops who have been terrorizing her neighborhood. It feels like it was timely when it came out, but it doesn’t read like a political statement. It reads like a really good revenge story. Richardson’s art was sharp and well laid out, and is a huge part of why Genius was so good.

read Genius on Amazon

71. Judas

Jeff Loveness, Jakub Rebelka (BOOM! Studios)

This book came out of nowhere for me. Loveness and Rebelka expanded on the story of Christ and Judas in a fascinating way. Judas is a whip smart comic that thinks around a lot of the unspoken corners of Jesus’s story. And it’s gorgeous: Rebelka draws the hell out of Hell. His backgrounds and settings are every bit as impressive as the storytelling accomplishment. Judas turned out to be an outstanding story.

read Judas on Amazon

70. Midnighter

Steve Orlando, ACO, Hugo Petrus, Romulo Fajardo, Jr & others (DC Comics)

Sometimes I just want to see a man punch his own ears off to stop from hearing a killing word.

read more: The Best TV Episodes of 2019

What might be the most shocking part about it is how much of this run endured in continuity through the years: Viv Vision is showing up left and right, and Victor Mancha’s fate here is a big plot point in Rowell and Anka’s wonderful Runaways relaunch.

read The Vision on Amazon

32. 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank

Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss (Black Mask Studios)

This one is all about the patter. Rosenberg makes the kids sound so entertaining and makes their interpersonal dynamic so engrossing that you get wrapped up in the world of 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank easily. Tyler Boss’ art is terrific, selling the exaggerated expressions that kids make, where a smile often starts in their legs, and landing all the humor just as comfortably. It’s a comic that could have ended up as nostalgic tripe, but instead, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank turned out great.

read 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank on Amazon

31. Kid Gloves

Lucy Knisley (First Second)

Kid Gloves is amazing for a lot of reasons. It’s informative and moving and personal, with a lot of history and politics that I think are really important components to a larger conversation that the book can be part of. Here’s the thing about it for me, though: I started reading it at the library. About halfway through, I put it back on the shelf, walked up the street to a book store and bought a copy. I knew from how much I was talking to the book while reading it that it was something I wanted to keep on my shelf and refer back to in the future. And I feel really good about that decision.

read Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos on Amazon

30. XKCD

Randall Munroe (Webcomic)

It didn’t inspire any stirring condemnations from legendary filmmakers, but I wonder if Randall Munroe’s half webcomic/half infographic didn’t have the biggest low key impact of any comic in the last decade. I feel like you’re vastly more likely to see an XKCD strip on someone’s desk, or tacked to the door of an office, or passed around on social media, than you are anything from Marvel or DC that isn’t designed to trigger the internet outrage cycle.

This is because Munroe is really good at cartooning. I mean, okay, he’s not going to paint you a Rembrandt, but his stick figures have a way of sneaking emotion up on you, through their shoulders and their heads. And he’s whip smart, too, but his comics help present his knowledge in an accessible, open way. XKCD has been in every iteration of blog reader I’ve had since 2010, and I’ll be checking in on it until it ends, because it’s terrific.

read XKCD here

29. Two Brothers

Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon (Dark Horse Comics)

Ba & Moon do some amazing work in this adaptation of a novel from their native Brazil about two brothers, their doting mom, and the woman who comes between them. The artwork in Two Brothers is stunningly good and improves on the source material by taking some of the novels most impactful scenes and making them visually striking. Two Brothers isn’t a splashy comic, but it’s a damn good one, one that will stick with you for a long time.

read Two Brothers on Amazon

28. Lumberjanes

Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen, Carolyn Nowak, Carey Pietch, Maarta Laiho & more (BOOM! Studios)

Lumberjanes takes a lot of what worked about The Goonies and makes it smarter in a different way to give us one of the most fun and purest adventure comics in recent memory. It’s no surprise that Stevenson is kicking so much ass on She-Ra.

The book has been going for some time now, so the creative teams have shifted, but the art is remarkably consistent through the volumes, and it’s clear, sharp cartooning that’s exaggerated in all the right ways for a woodsy, camping adventure tale like this. Lumberjanes is another book with a huge cast that’s well managed, and it’s a lot of fun to read through.

read Lumberjanes on Amazon

27. Showa: A History of Japan

Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Technically, Showa is like, 30 years old. But it took 25 of those years for it to be released in the States, and there are no rules to this list, so I’m counting it.

Mizuki is one of the fathers of manga as a form, and as someone who came to his work after reading folks like Otomo and Urasawa, and decades after becoming familiar with anime, his work feels quaint and unsophisticated. Which is a really interesting pairing with the subject matter - Showa is a history of Japan in the Showa era, spanning the ‘20s through the late ‘80s, a period of massive transition for Japan that I mostly knew from broad strokes. He switches back and forth between a hyper-detailed realistic style that looks like (and sometimes is) tracing, and the cartoony manga style he uses to illustrate personal moments that tie into that history. It’s an incredibly effective storytelling technique and a useful way to bring the reader’s attention past the big picture and down to the regular peoples’ perspective of that big change. Showa is an incredible history book, and a masterpiece of the form.

read Showa on Amazon

26. Copra

Michel Fiffe (Bergen Street Comics/Image Comics)

It’s still amazing to me that Copra can even get made. It started out as a...spiritual sequel to Ostrander/Yale/McDonnell Suicide Squad in that it was almost an actual direct lift of Ostrander/Yale/McDonnell Suicide Squad only with Doctor Strange and Clea added in. But it was done with weird indie linework and colored pencil coloring, with a big zine aesthetic that made it immediately compelling. And once I got into it, I realized that Fiffe had captured everything great about that Suicide Squad run but turned it into something dstinctly his own, and I’ve loved it ever since.

read Copra on Amazon

25. Afterlife with Archie

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Francesco Francavilla (Archie Comics)

This comic should not exist. It should not be good. It certainly shouldn’t be one of the best comics I’ve read in the last decade. And yet, Afterlife with Archie remains incredible. In fact, it might be the purest, finest zombie story I’ve experienced in a while. The slowly building tension is a masterclass in mood. Aguirre-Sacasa does a great job of taking Riverdale’s existing dynamic and plopping it into a zombie horror story so you get something that is recognizably both things at the same time. Francavilla’s art is probably the least surprising part of the equation, in that it is incredible. And the fact that you can probably draw a straight line between some of the themes here and what ended up on your screens in Riverdale is...pretty insane. And amazing.

read Afterlife With Archie on Amazon

24. Scalped

Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera (Vertigo)

The best thing about Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera’s Scalped is the cast. It’s a HUGE book, about an FBI investigation into corruption on a reservation that sends Dash Bad Horse back home undercover to investigate. Everyone Dash encounters, and everyone who’s conspiring to make life in Pairie Rose garbage, is a full character within two sentences. They all sound different, move different, look different. They carry the weight of a rough life in their posture and their cadence.

Superhero comics developed the distinctive costumes so artists could distinguish between characters easily. It’s hard to draw distinctive, consistent, recognizable people in street clothes, but Guera is amazing at it, and Aaron puts so much care and character into everyone who sets foot on the page that Scalped is impossible to put down.

read Scalped on Amazon

23. Nancy

Olivia Jaimes (GoComics)

“Sluggo is lit” isn’t quite the cultural phenomenon it was when Olivia Jaimes, the pseudonymous cartoonist, first introduced it to the strip she took over in 2018. But it’s still damn funny. I’ll admit, I completely blew it on Nancy in 2018 - it hadn’t registered with me because I don’t get print newspapers and only have a passing knowledge of their comic strips anymore. But when I first saw it, I died laughing.

And then I took a closer look at some of the comics - the one where Nancy steals the cookies from the top of the fridge by tossing them between panels to herself, or the joke about filler where the last panel is mostly an empty word balloon - and I realized that Jaimes, in addition to being funny as hell, really gets how to screw with the flow of information from comic to reader. She’s exceptionally talented, and Nancy is amazing work.

read Nancy here

22. The Hard Tomorrow

Eleanor Davis (Drawn & Quarterly)

The Hard Tomorrow stressed me out, and then lifted me up at the end. It’s very much a comic about our current moment (and by “current moment,” I mean the singularity that the last four years have compressed into). It doesn’t capture the terror that some groups might feel, but it does a great job of conveying that background hum, like a cultural migrane, that makes everything more difficult in the world. And then, intentionally or not, it swings the story back around and pumps you full of hope and meaning with the last ten pages. It’s incredible comics work from Eleanor Davis, an amazing talent.

read The Hard Tomorrow on Amazon

21. My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies

Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jake Phillips (Image Comics)

You can read any Criminal comic and come away happy. Okay, maybe not “happy” per se - My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies is an extremely unhappy comic, about a girl who meets a boy in rehab, gets him back on drugs with her and then goes on a trip with him, framed around her pretentious love of drug addicted musicians. It would be obnoxious if it wasn’t so incredibly well done and packed in with a twist at the end that makes it go from messed up to REALLY messed up. Everything Brubaker and Phillips have done together, back to Sleeper, has been superlative, but from the last ten years, I really feel like this is their best work.

read My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies on Amazon

20. Through the Woods

Emily Carroll (Margaret K. McElderry Books)

I don’t think there’s anybody doing slow, creepy, gothic horror like Emily Carroll right now. Through the Woods is a collection of short stories that’s full of dark blacks and loose line work, the letters worked into the art organically to amplify the creepiness and the stories built to scare. She comes at normal relationships and injects them with something horrific, but paces it so incredibly well that you barely notice it until the end, when something happens to finally make your skin crawl. Carroll is a gifted storyteller, and Through the Woods is some of the best horror stuff out there.

read Through the Woods on Amazon

19. The Flintstones

Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry (DC Comics)

Anytime a comic can get a physical reaction out of me, it’s usually a sign that it’s a very successful storytelling endeavor. I think The Flinstones’ hold music on the suicide hotline joke is the loudest I’ve shouted “holy shit” at a comic in a decade. Mark Russell is the best satirist working in comics right now, and certainly in the past decade. Steve Pugh was equal to the task of packing every joke and sly look and absurdity implied by the dialogue. The Flintstones is one of the funniest books you'll ever read.

read The Flintstones on Amazon

18. Atomic Robo & Other Strangeness

Brian Clevenger, Scott Wegener, Ronda Pattison (Webcomic)

I love Dr. Dinosaur. I will buy anything Dr. Dinosaur is in, contribute to any crowdfunding campaign that gets me Dr. Dinosaur goods, and I will take every opportunity I can to share that “the light is for ambiance” page.

Clevinger and Wegener have created a near-perfect, accessible, entertaining adventure story with Atomic Robo. The writing is smart and sharp and Wegener does some outstanding action sequences. I don’t think there’s any comic I’ve been dedicated to for longer - I think I’ve been regularly reading Robo longer than I’ve had Batman on my pull list - and there’s no comic I recommend more frequently. Other Strangeness has two amazing Dr. Dinosaur stories and Jenkins, but you can pick up any volume and get the same high quality action adventure comics.

read Atomic Robo here

17. The Private Eye

Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vincente (Panel Syndicate)

Vaughan, Martin, and Vincente made a beautiful, compelling comic book that was uncomfortably prescient.

Sixty years from now, the cloud bursts - all of the private data stored on the cloud gets released to the public. It destroys lives and relationships, and triggers an anti-internet backlash. And an anti-journalist one. It then follows an unlicensed journalist as he travels around solving a mystery in a world where everyone wears masks to throw off facial recognition tech.

The Private Eye was cyberpunk that inverted some cyberpunk formulae - it was bright and warm and shiny, distrustful of tech and very human, but it was still a grimy near-future full of people navigating a world that sucked. It was an incredible read and one of the comics I think about most, even five years down the road.

read The Private Eye here

16. Secret Wars

Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina (Marvel Comics)

I’m using Secret Wars as a stand in here for all of Hickman’s prior Marvel work from the decade, and really the entire story that started in Fantastic Four and paid off with the final Doom/Reed battle at the end of this story. “Epic” doesn’t even begin to describe a story that starts with the council of Reeds, breaks the Avengers, destroys the multiverse, then reforms it again out of a love of adventure. I reread these comics more than any in my collection because they’re beautiful and immersive and impossibly grand.

read Secret Wars on Amazon

15. Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye

James Roberts, Alex Milne, Josh Burcham (IDW Publishing)

I still can’t believe how much I love this run of comics. I am even more flabbergasted at why: it was one of the most surprisingly thoughtful comics about sexuality and romantic relationships that I’ve ever read, and it came as part of a broader Transformers story (when paired with the story in Robots in Disguise) that had some of the best takes on gender identity and politics that I can remember.

Every word of that paragraph still makes no sense to me. I am continually delighted by this fact.

More Than Meets the Eye follows Rodimus and a group of breakaway Transformers as they search the universe for the lost Knights of Cybertron. It features a fascinating and touching relationship between Rewind and Chromedome (with Cyclonus as a third-wheel/homewrecker WHAT IS HAPPENING), and it has a deep dive into Ultra Magnus’s history as Cybertron’s premiere stick in the mud. Honestly, just take my word for it: this comic was incredible.

read Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye on Amazon

14. The Multiversity

Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Nathan Fairbairn & Others (DC Comics)

The Multiversity still contains my single favorite page of comic art from the decade: Frank Quitely breaking down Peacemaker kicking the hell out of a great lawn full of soldiers outside the White House. I can’t even begin to describe how technically fascinating that issue was or how breathtaking it still is to see. The rest of the series brought me great joy, but that issue might be the best single issue of comics I’ve read in the last 10 years.

read The Multiversity on Amazon

13. My Favorite Thing is Monsters

Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Everything about Emil Ferris’ debut work is absurd. The production value of the book is stellar. Her deft storytelling made me feel literally dropped into the comic several times, overwhelming me by the world she brought me into. And that this was her first published work is still, what feels like an eon later, ridiculous to me. My Favorite Thing is Monsters will make you feel like a ten year old girl, whether you’ve ever been one before or not, and that is some magical work.

read My Favorite Thing is Monsters on Amazon

12. Here

Richard McGuire (Pantheon Books)

Here started out as a comic strip in 1989, and got blown out into a full graphic novel in 2014, and both are incredibly interesting experiments with the form of comics storytelling. It sets the “camera” pointed at the corner of a room, and then spins time out in both directions, showing us what that corner looked like 2000 years in the past, hundreds of years in the future, in the 1950s, today, and a bunch of other times. And the way that McGuire manages to tell a coherent story under those restrictions is masterful work.

read Here on Amazon

11. Hellboy in Hell

Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart (Dark Horse Comics)

There’s something beautiful about Mignola spending 25 years weaving just about every mythological cosmology from human history together, and then ending that whole story by having Hellboy walk across Hell, into his childhood home, and just disappear. It’s a very quiet, peaceful ending for what had at times been a loud comic in the past, but it’s a beautiful end that refers back to other work of Mignola’s, which lends the ending a kind of peacefulness that cuts through the sadness of the loss of this story. Hellboy in Hell is a really great ending.

read Hellboy in Hell on Amazon

10. Thor: God of Thunder

Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic, Dean White & others (Marvel Comics)

There is actually some debate in my mind as to whether or not Jason Aaron’s Thor run, stretching from the stunning God of Thunder through The Mighty Thor and War of the Realms and into King Thor, is better than Walt Simonson’s Thor. It’s probably still Simonson’s run, but the fact that there’s an open question should tell you how good Aaron’s story has been. The best Thor stories have a bigger point than “Can Thor beat up the Hulk?” Aaron’s has been “What responsibilities does being a god bring with it; how do they carry them out; and how does that impact us?” It’s masterful work drawn by a collection of incredible artists.

read Thor: God of Thunder on Amazon

9. Saga

Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

The best thing about Saga to me is that the characters have grown with me. That’s not necessarily why it’s one of the ten best comics of the decade - Fiona Staples is an utterly incredible artist who without fail puts something singularly amazing into each issue - but it’s why I care about it so much. Hazel, Marko and Alana have all grown beautifully as characters since issue 1, and the world is so inventive and different from what you always get in science fiction that it’s a joy to read every time a new issue drops.

read Saga on Amazon

8. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit

Donald Westlake, Darwyn Cooke (IDW Publishing)

Darwyn Cooke is one of the most talented people to ever work in the comics industry. He’s still, years after his passing, an enormous influence on how people conceive of the DC universe because of The New Frontier. But it’s his adaptations of Westlake’s ‘60s crime novels starring Parker that might be his best work. The Outfit is the second and my favorite, but all of them are amazing pieces of comics storytelling. Cooke’s storytelling techniques bounce all over the place, but all work amazingly well. He especially excels at showing complicated heists - the way Cooke plays with time and sequencing makes these books an amazing read.

read Richard Stark's Parker: The Outfit on Amazon

7. Prince of Cats

Ron Wimberly (Image Comics)

Wimberly’s Prince of Cats is pretty close to a perfect comic. Repurposing and adapting Shakespearean dialogue and patter to a hip hop aesthetic is, strangely, exactly what I want out of a story. Wimberly’s art is stylish as hell, with fantastic layouts and odd angles, and it is colored beautifully. It’s the story of Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet, but set in a city that’s a mishmosh of all five boroughs, in a time that’s anywhere from the mid ‘80s to present day. It’s a little bit Shakespearean tragedy, a little bit samurai anime, a little bit Planet Rock, and ultimately an amazing piece of comic book art.

read Prince of Cats on Amazon

6. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Derek Charm, Rico Renzi & others (Marvel Comics)

I love how Unbeatable Squirrel Girl never talked down to readers, and in a wonderful example of what superhero comics could be (and occasionally were), how Doreen was always trying to find a way to solve problems that didn’t involve violence and would endure. Her supporting cast was terrific, guest characters were phenomenal, and Henderson has impeccable comic timing. And the book was surprisingly experimental and innovative - the zine issue and the choose your own adventure issue are two of the best single issues of comics I’ve read this decade, but even without them, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl will go down as one of my favorite comics of all time.

read The Unbeatable Squirrell Girl on Amazon

5. Hark! A Vagrant

Kate Beaton (Webcomic/Drawn & Quarterly)

Beaton is one of the smartest, funniest cartoonists out there. Hark! A Vagrant catches the best of the early decade webcomic ethos - it’s loose and fast, about anything and everything and just funny as hell. She’s got bits about Tesla, a ton of jokes about Austen and classic literature, idiot Victorian chimney sweeps. All of it lands because Beaton’s got a sharp eye and a strong voice for absurdity. I think my personal favorite remains Straw Feminists.

read Hark! a Vagrant here

4. Hip Hop Family Tree

Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)

I’ve watched several documentaries since reading this and interrupted them, going “oh shit, I already knew this from Hip Hop Family Tree.” Piskor’s brief history of the birth and first couple of phase transitions of one of my favorite art forms is informative, smart, funny, and informed deeply by his love of comic book culture, which only enhances some of the stories he tells about early hip hop, which was also deeply informed by comics. And in retrospect, the fact that HHFT ended up circling back on superhero comics, giving us X-Men: Grand Design is too perfect for words.

read Hip Hop Family Tree on Amazon

3. Mister Miracle

Tom King, Mitch Gerads (DC Comics)

I’m pretty sure Mister Miracle is the best comic I’ve ever read as it came out. This is King and Gerads operating in peak form. Everything about it, from the content to the pacing to the characterization, was absolutely perfect. And the ambiguity of the ending, how it showed a way forward in dealing with trauma and how it inadvertently turned into a poignant love letter to the (at that time recently) departed old guard just made it all stick even harder. I loan this out to friends having kids, because I love Mister Miracle and I want everyone else to find their way to loving it, too.

read Mister Miracle on Amazon

2. Smile

Raina Telgemeier (Graphix)

I came to Raina’s world late. I have a niece who’s brilliant, and I was looking for a way to get her into comics so I’d have someone at family gatherings to talk to about this stuff. I knew that these books were popular, so I grabbed one at a bookstore and started on it. Twenty minutes later, I was walking out of the store with Smile and Sisters, and my niece finished both of them in about six hours and started asking for more. Raina tells a hell of a story, and Smile deserves to be on this list just based on craft, but it’s this high because she’s single-handedly hooking a new generation into our favorite medium. I will always appreciate that.

read Smile on Amazon

1. March

Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)

I don’t think I could have landed on a different comic here if I tried. March is a unique combination of craft, relevance, and timelessness. Powell’s art is staggeringly good, full of gorgeous storytelling. And when I think about moments from comics that have stuck with me the most, I keep coming back to the bombing of the Freedom Riders’ bus at the end of volume 1. I knew it was historical and that still scared the hell out of me. Kudos and thanks to Rep. Lewis, Aydin and Powell for making an incredible book.

read March on Amazon

Read and download the Den of Geek Lost in Space Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Dec 30, 2019

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orphanbrigade · 7 years

Text

Big Fun

Orphan Brigade [High School Years]: Geoffs boys are growing up fast. They’re attending High School, meeting girls and participating in epic heists.

Megs parents were away for the weekend, which could only mean one thing; it was time for her to host a party.

It was initially supposed to be a low-key event, with only the Fake Ah Crew Lads (and Michael's girlfriend Lindsay) coming over.

But Megs school friends had gotten wind of the plans and it quickly spread throughout the school that she was hosting a party. Meg didn’t particularly mind though, the more the merrier. (And if it helped improve her reputation after the Scarlet Letter debacle, even better.)

Megs family home was massive. But most of the party was concentrated outside, by the poolside. Music was blasting from the giant sound system in the living room and most of the teenagers were already drunk.

Michael was sat at a table challenging anyone who passed him to an arm wrestling competition and took a shot every-time he lost a game (he occasionally drunk when he won as well). It was the most drunk anyone had ever seen him. Lindsay had started switching Michael's shots with lemonade and was taking bets on how long it would take him to notice.

Ray and Jeremy were sat on the roof of the garage with Matt and a few other teens. Matt was happily sharing his stash of weed with Ray. Jeremy politely declined. He didn’t like the idea of not being in control of his own mind. That didn’t stop him from drinking though.

Ryan had been invited but had declined when he found out just how many high school students would be attending. He figured he just wouldn’t feel comfortable.

Meg smiled as she spotted Gavin. She snuck up behind him. “Hey handsome. Come here often?”

“Whu-?” Gavin wasn’t sure how to respond. “No! I...??”

Meg laughed. “Relax. I’m flirting with you.”

“You are?” Gavin's eyes lit up.

Meg kissed his cheek in response.

“Hey, uh, we have a problem.” Lindsay interrupted.

“What’s up?” Gavin asked, one arm around Megs waist.

“Michael’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Just... gone! Disappeared! Vanished!” Lindsay explained with wild hand gestures. “He went to take a piss like twenty minutes ago. And no-ones seen him since.”

A friend of Meg ran over, a note in her hand. “This was stuck in the front door with a knife!” The teen gasped dramatically, passing Meg the note.

“If you want Mogar. Come find us.” Meg read aloud. “And there’s a little drawing of a cow in the corner... What on earth does that mean?”

Gavin's eyes narrowed. “It means war.”

The Lads weren’t exactly in the best state to stage a rescue. Ray was high and Jeremy and Gavin were pretty drunk. But they weren’t going to let that stop them.

Meg watched them race away and quickly grabbed her phone to call Ryan. “Hey Ry. How come every time I have a party, criminals are attracted to you guys?”

“What happened?”

“No idea. There’s some cryptic note about ‘Mogar’. Michael's disappeared. And the boys have all ran off to their cars. Which, given how drunk they are, is probably a pretty bad idea.”

Ryan sighed. “Thanks for the heads up Meg.”

“Do me a favour? Make sure Gavin doesn’t do anything dangerous and reckless?”

“I’m not a miracle worker Meg.” Ryan replied. “Gotta go.” He hung up and raced over to tell Geoff and Jack what he knew.

#to be continued....#eventually #fake ah crew #fake ah crew au #meg turney #gavin free #jeremy dooley #michael jones #lindsay jones #ray narvaez jr

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vagrantblvrd · 5 years

Text

Based on the Thief Simulator videos?

Police detective Ryan Haywood going undercover as a thief...because reasons.

He’s part of a task force that includes his new partner Jeremy, Trevor, Jack and Michael, all because reasons. Geoff is their boss, and Lindsay is Just There.

(No one’s really sure what she does, but they all assume she’s part of the task force and never actually consult each other about it. The task force has been meddled with by higher ups and various federal agencies and at this point it would be awkward to ask because clearly she’s One of Them.)

And then!

As he’s out Thieving with the others yelling “advice” at him through the earpiece he makes the rookie mistake of leaving his Thief!car unlocked.

Comes back weighted down by all the things he’s stolen to find someone hot-wiring his car and talk about awkward, right?

“Uh, hey?” Ryan says, super subtly reaching up to pluck the earpiece out because everyone is losing their goddamned minds about Ryan!thief being Thieved. “What the hell are you doing?”

The other thief gives him what can only be considered a Look because Ryan’s bag of stolen goods is overflowing with routers and whatnot. (He has a problem, sue him.)

“Oh,” the guy says. “You’re back sooner than I expected.”

Which.

Okay, not really damning on its own, but then the guy leans back to give Ryan this appraising once-over.

Has to notice the twigs and leaves and whatnot from that time Ryan had to duck into the shrubs to avoid notice. Dirt and mud and whatever else from that other time he threw himself into a ditch while the cops combed the neighborhood for him and so on.(He’s a fucking mess and his “haul” this time around is mostly routers and alarm clocks. One flower vase, tall.)

“I’m sorry. What?”

And the thief grins at him, sly edge to it as he glances towards the neighborhood Ryan’s been quietly terrorizing for weeks now. Flash of lights from police cars and the cops still looking for him.

“Oh,” the guy says, and he is definitely laughing at Ryan. “Nothing.”

Ryan being mercilessly mocked by this Thief he caught stealing his car, who then does steal it. Gives Ryan this cheeky grin and a mocking salute as he drives off with Ryan standing there like an idiot until one of the others come get him before the cops find him (He has to hide in the bushes until then with his bag of shitty stolen goods not exactly seething, just. Disgruntled.)

Ryan runs into the guy again later as they’re burgling the same house and the guy - all nose and no personality and no, that’s not Ryan being a bitter old man, shut up Trevor - gives him a few pointers. All nice and friendly about it, too.

(Doesn’t give Ryan shit when he shoves a router into his bag - he can quit any time he wants to, this is a Choice.)

They end up working together and Ryan is like yes because now he stands a better chance of getting at the crime ring behind a string of thefts in the area and the whatnot? But also oh, no because he went and caught Feelings for the Thief. (Gavin, his name is Gavin and Ryan lied about him not having a personality, don’t look at him like that Trevor.)

This whole thing of them being Thieving Buddies until shit goes wrong and they tangle with the crime ring Ryan was meant to uncover. Find out they’ve got Big Plans or whatever and it’s a whole Thing.

Getting caught by the baddies and them exposing him as a cop - all this guilt and whatnot with Gavin giving him This look, right, because FEELINGS.

To his surprise Gavin gets the two of them out of there, right. Strained silence as Gavin drives them somewhere he says is safe, Ryan sitting next to him with all these Things he wants to say but now doesn’t seem the time? (Doesn’t seem like Gavin would be willing to hear them, so he keeps them locked down tight and waits to see what’s going to happen.)

Gavin drives them to the richie rich neighborhood he and Ryan had their sights set on, pulls up to one and gets them past the gate. Pulls into the garage and shuts the engine off, Stares at his hands on the steering wheel for the longest time, takes a deep breath like he’s got something to say -

The door leading to the house is thrown open and out spills Ryan’s idiots, a riot of noise and Concern as they swarm his side of the car, get him out and drag him into the house to get him patched up. (Got a little roughed up when the baddies caught them, but it could have been a lot worse if Gavin didn’t get them out of there.)

When things quiet down, Ryan looks over to where Gavin and Lindsay are talking and it comes out that he’s a damn fed, they both are. Working for a long,long time to track this criminal ring down and the exasperation when they found out about the task fore, okay.

Lindsay and Gavin debating whether or not to interfere when Ryan proved to be such a terrible thief. (Ryan’s little “hey, I’m not that bad” that gets Looks from everyone present, because my God man.)

And then the night Gavin happened upon Ryan’s car - unlocked, who even does that with thieves running around??? - and everything up to now.

Gavin looking a little guilty himself when Ryan looks at him, because two wrongs and all, but this is Good Thing? Or something, since now Ryan doesn’t have to worry about the whole arresting Gavin and sending him to jail portion of things.

Awkwardness abounds because Lindsay totally knows Gavin also has a Thing for Ryan, right? (Hasn’t done anything about it though because not like he and Lindsay are going to be sticking around once they bring this crime ring down, and also surely Ryan wouldn’t be interested in Gavin, perish the thought.)

Everyone (except Gavin) knows Ryan has a Thing for Gavin and it‘s the height of entertainment for them as they work together to bring the crime ring down.

Shenanigans in which there are thrilling car chases and the whatnot, and that ~emotional goodby scene between Ryan and Gavin once things are over.

...A few months later Ryan gets word that the task force is going to partner with some federal agency or other on another crime ring or what have you. He’s like, sure, fine. Whatever you say Geoff and not really interested because he’s still nursing his bruised/broken heart over the Gavin Thing, right?

But surprise, surprise, the feds joining the task force and Gavin and Lindsay. Because reasons!!1!

(They also brig Alfredo and Fiona with them, and it’s just chaos all around the moment they meet Trevor and Geoff has never regretted his life choices more.)

Awkward reunion bit in which Ryan is cautiously optimistic about things between them. (Look, his city is absolutely riddled with crime and the whatnot, Gavin and Lindsay might be around for a while is all.)

Everyone else set up a new betting pool - they were so damn certain one of their morons would have made a move the first time around, but no, they were just too dumb for that, so.

Ryan and Gavin completely oblivious about the betting pool and worried about the whole fraternization thing - so they start a ~secret relationship.

Don’t realize at all the others figure it out after a while - cannot for the life them figure out why everyone’s annoyed with them for the longest time. (Can’t win the betting pool if no one knows when they got together or who made the first move, and they all take turns trying to get the information out of them without being obvious about it.)

At some point one of them gets caught by some baddies and it’s a harrowing ordeal - come too close to death for anyone’s peace of mind and there’s a touching reunion scene.

The two of them realizing too late they’re not alone and oh, no, now they’ve really done it, but everyone is focused on keeping them alive to deal with that.

And then when they do -

“Okay, so now that you two are officially done being idiots (about this one thing,at any rate) there’s something we need to know.”

Ryan and Gavin bracing themselves for who even knows what, and Lindsay slams her hands on the desk between them. Demands to know the exact date and time they got their shit together because it’s of the utmost importance you assholes!

(They put a lot of money into that goddamned betting pool, and like hell are they going to let it sit there gathering dust,so answer the damn question!!1!)

Naturally, Ryan and Gavin give different answers and continue to do so for forever because hey, wow, rude much? And also, just because.

And, like.

Undercover crime-solving shenanigans ever after I guess???

ALSO.

Matt Bragg as this hacker they bring in at some point who decided he’d rather work for the “good guys” than go to prison. (”Do I look like the kind of guy who’d do well in prison?”)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#freewood #ragehappy #undercover cop au #thief simulator au #these idiots au #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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powertobehandsome · 7 years

Text

The Way I See It || Matt and Seth

Part two. || @blindlyburning

Matt laughed a little dryly and shook his head. "No. But speaking of danger... I'm going to head out for a bit. Try not to.. get hit by cars or anything. I'll pick up some groceries on my way back.. just.. don't open the door for anyone while I'm gone, alright? Stay here."

Seth and Ryan both nodded, then Seth cleared his throat, affirming vocally that they could survive for a few hours while Matt went out.

"Thank you."

By the time Matt returned, Ryan was again asleep on the couch, Seth had downloaded a book on his phone and was reading it in Matt's bed. He'd taken his third dose of pills for the day and was settling in, expecting them to make him drowsy again. But he wanted to stay awake. At least for a while longer.

Matt put the groceries on the counter, went to shower before anything else, and then changed back into his sweats and t-shirt. There was a light bruise forming on his chin when he slipped in to find Seth.

"You uh.. doing okay?" He stood in the doorway, arms awkwardly folded.

Seth looked up from his glowing screen and hummed his affirmation.

"Would you like to sleep here tonight?"

It didn't occur to Seth how his question might sound, and assumed Matt saying yes would mean himself sleeping on the rug.

Which was perfectly fine.

This man had likely just saved someone else's life. "Are you okay?"

"If it won't make you uncomfortable for me to be there..." he hesitated a moment longer, then crawled in next to Seth, although he was careful not to touch him.

"And yeah, I'm fine. For once, the bruise really is from falling." He gave a wry smile. "But there's one less would-be rapist in the street tonight, so.. it's a good night. Did you... find a book to read? On your phone?"

"How did you..." But Seth smiled, and relaxed beside Matt. Of course he somehow knew. "Let me know when I need to let you sleep and go into the other room or something. But I don't mind you... being here. Of course."

He locked his phone and set it aside. "Nope. I gotta know. How could you tell?"

"I could hear the little sounds of its circuits, most smartphones sound alike, and you seemed...less engaged than a person texting, who usually has a sort of... they seem like they're waiting for something. You weren't so alert. More.. relaxed. And you don't have to go sleep out there. It's a big enough bed, we can share, unless... that would make things weird for.. any reason? If so, I'll go. There's no way I'm letting you sleep on the floor."

Matt's bed was essentially a cloud. Everything was ridiculously soft and yielding, from the genuinely silk sheets -- no trashy satin -- to the feather pillows and the memory foam mattress, the velvety blankets. The bed was absolutely a sanctuary, Matt's favorite place to be, but he knew he'd leave it in a heartbeat if he needed to.

"No. Nothing weird about it. If you're sure, I would rather you stayed in here anyway, since you won't hear of me surrendering your own bed to you. I have to insist on sharing."

Seth liked the way this bed felt, how it was generous to all injuries. "You fell... but how far did you fall?" Seth reached with his right arm, the side he could actually stretch and extend with, and carefully touched Matt's jaw, angling his face just enough so that Seth could actually see. "And are you telling me you didn't fight? Or that the fight didn't cause the bruise?"

"Fight didn't cause the bruise. This was after. I was in a pretty cluttered alley and uh," he laughed softly, thoroughly embarrassed, "stepped on a cat's tail. Not on purr-pose. It yowled, I jumped and then tripped and my face met the dumpster. Superhero quality, Seth, right here."

"Not on-- oh my god. We're going to be great friends. You might have gotten a little bent out of shape. But that pun was paw-some. Definitely superhero worthy."

Realizing his thumb was still slowly, and gently passing over the coming bruise, Seth pulled his hand away and smiled awkwardly. "It's still... I mean it's only evening. Ryan won't wake, if you're not ready for bed and need to do things. And I... well, this is the least painful place. And my meds have started making me a little lethargic. But I don't want you to feel like this is where you have to be."

It was a good thing that Seth couldn't hear Matt's heart; the soft caress to his jaw, the feeling of that soft skin against Matt's stubble and his bruise, had given him an unexpected little tingle, a rush.

"Guess we're... both pretty happy to.. be here." He tugged the blanket up around his shoulders, looking happy and awkward at once. "How are your injuries, though? Is there anything you need?"

"They're the same as earlier. I might be a little stiffer from my lack of movement for the past hour or two. And I know I'm still going to hurt in the morning. But I'll survive. I can almost feel the separation of my eyelids if I stretch my face enough. Which of course pulls at the glue. But still. Progress, right?"

Despite all the pain, Seth was comfortable and happy. "No. I don't need you to get me anything. I'm quite content with... um. With you staying here."

"Definitely progress. Let's maybe not pull at any glue or anything though, yeah? The doctors probably made some nice artwork on your face, best to just enjoy it a while."

"Hmm. Perhaps you're right." Since there was no... no tell tale things which would give him away for doing such, or so he thought, considering he couldn't even hear his own heartbeat, Seth rested his head back against the headboard, and just let himself look at Matt for a few moments. A soft smile spread across his lips and he mentally rolled his eyes at himself for being so adoring over a superhero. Matt wasn't tony stark. He didn't seem to want the attention or gratitude.

But that didn't make Matt any less deserving of it -- any less amazing.

"Did you eat?"

"Just the pancakes earlier. But I brought some more stuff home. It's in the kitchen, so there's real food later.. sure you don't want me to cook you something?"

"I had a bite with my last set of pills to keep my stomach from being upset." A bite wasn't a meal, and he knew that, but he wasn't craving, and he wasn't exactly hungry. But if Matt was, Seth would join him. "I'll go sit with you again, though, if you'd like?"

"Mmm-nn," he objected, then stretched lazily and happily before relaxing again. "Until I have to get up, I'm staying put. Bed trumps food."

"That works for me," Seth stumbled through the response as he watched, and wondered how a man like this was alone before remembering what he did for his hobbies. Still. There had to be some girl he enjoyed the company of. "Then bed it is until there is no other option."

"Mmm-hmm." Matt's eyes were closed and he was smiling. "Good bed. Good company. I could use more nights like this." Of course, the whole reason that he'd stopped at just one person was because he needed to be back here, protecting these two, but that wasn't really something to dwell on.

"Anyway. What's on your mind? If it's okay to ask?"

"Honestly wondering where the girlfriend is in all this. I have a difficult time believing there isn't one." He shrugged. "But romance is hard, and you don't have to share details, of course. Just... that's what was on my mind."

"Hey, I asked. And there's no girl. There hasn't been anyone steady for... a few years now. Once in a while, I'll...hook up with someone? But it's more of a casual thing.. I haven't -- until recently, haven't thought about opening up and sharing the truth with someone.. and the thought of lying in a relationship was always... too much.

"What about you? You seem great. Is there anyone special in your life right now?"

"Hmm? You mean besides my reflection? Nah. Even that relationship was a bit one sided and is completely shattered now." He smiled at himself, then continued on, his time a little more seriously.

"Had a steady girlfriend. She moved away. Had a steady boyfriend. We decided together that it just... it was there. We loved each other, but we were better off as best friends. And I live in a town where people only care about money and society. It's hard to find someone my type."

Matt had laughed softly at his mirror joke, then gotten somber and quiet when Seth went on. Afterwards, he asked, "Do you ever get lonely?"

"Sure." Only all the time. "The house I live in is too big. But it's my family home and it's rent free. So, what are you gonna do? He sighed and closed his eyes. "But at least I've got Captain Oats."

"Cat..?"

"Uh. Horse figurine."

"Hence the oats. Right. That.. makes more sense than a cat." Matt shook his head at himself. "Sorry. Tell me about Captain Oats?"

Seth blushed. He hadn't actually expected Matt to be interested in hearing about a toy. "My nana gave it to me when I was eight? I think. It's just a figurine. But I've told him all about my stories. Made him a super hero in some of the stories I've written. Sorry. You have to think I'm a kid now.

"Hey, Tolkien basically has a superhero horse character, if he can get away with it, why not you?"

Seth smiled and looked over at Matt for a long moment. "What about you? Does the long string of criminals keep you entertained and keep you from being lonely?"

"Oh yeah, I mean, who needs to find a beautiful woman when they can exchange punches with men who reek of body odor and shitty life choices?"

Laughing, Seth sighed and nodded in response. "Exactly. What good are the beautiful women for anyway? Conversation and keeping a warm bed and a warm heart? Who needs all of those things?"

"Mmhmm. Much better to be miserable and alone. It's far more Catholic, anyway, which works for me."

"But you know, with moments like this sprinkled it, maybe life wouldn't be so bad. Granted, I could do without the injuries. But the company is quite enjoyable."

"It is." Matt rolled onto his stomach, careful not to jostle the bed at all, and rubbed his face against the pillow for a moment before curling up on his side again. "We'll have to spend some time together when you're well," he said. "If you are still willing to tolerate me then."

"I don't think there is any danger of me not enjoying your company. Quite the opposite, actually. But if you can still stand me, maybe you'd enjoy a few nights away to California. It's hot and suffocating and crowded, all the things my Jewish soul needs." He smirked. "That is. If the city can spare you for that long."

"It can't," Matt said softly, growing serious again, "but I'll go anyway because if... I don't, if I can't leave it.. the guilt will just -- turn into an addiction. And down that road lies madness. Some nights, like tonight, I make myself keep short despite... what I can hear... because the temptation to think I can save everyone is... strong." For a moment, there was real heartache in his voice, but he went on. "But noble as it would be to give up everything for the city... I'll lose.. things I can't replace if I do that... and.. I'm... rambling and being self-centered. Sorry."

"Oh, please, Matt. You are with a kindred, self-centered spirit. Don't apologize. And besides, I enjoy hearing about you. After I talked your ear off earlier, it seems only fair that you be given the opportunity to ramble for a while. You have my undivided attention."

"If you weren't a broken mess, I might actually have to hug you right now." Matt pulled the blanket up over his head, just leaving a small breathing hole.

"What do you like most about California?"

"The ocean. And the warmth," Seth replied, cursing his injuries and trying to give Matt enough free blankets that he'd been sitting on without moving too much. "The people can be shallow, which is perhaps to balance the depth of the ocean, but it's a good place to be."

Finally, Seth decided he wanted to get settled in bed. But removing his pants had been a challenge, and the shirt made him grunt and whimper quietly, but soon he was moving into the covers, keeping carefully to his side of the bed, still wary of making Matt uncomfortable. "But I thought we were talking more about you and Hell's Kitchen."

"Do you need help?" Matt had interrupted, concerned, when Seth first seemed to be struggling with the clothing, and he had reached out to lightly touch his arm, to stop him. "Don't -- don't hurt yourself. Use me if you need help. I'm offering."

And Seth had used him for balance, then asked him to pull on the sleeve of his injured side so Seth could free his arm. But as he ended up in bed, he looked down at the bruises and the patch and the swelling over his ribs, thankful Matt couldn't actually see any of it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. You're not alone in this, okay? Please don't ever be afraid to ask for help."

"You've already done so much for me. You keep going and I'm going to get a crush on you." There. Playful, yet a blatant honesty underneath. And a warning of where Seth was trying to keep any feelings from popping up.

"I've... never been involved with a man," Matt answered softly after a minute, getting comfortable again once Seth had. "So you'd probably enjoy a crush on someone more experienced much more. Don't waste affection on me." He tried to make it sound light but he suspected he had failed.

Seth looked at Matt for a long beat, trying to decipher exactly what he meant. "Experience is the least of my concerns. But accepting of said affections? Receptive... Open? To them? That's kind of the most important part. Which, you know, most straight men aren't really flattered by the attentions of another man." He shrugged and looked at his hands as they were folded on the blanket. His heart beating faster and he tried to hold it all under the surface. "I'm sorry if I turned things awkward or uncomfortable. It was only meant as a light-hearted teasing."

"Right. Sorry. I have a tendency of taking things too seriously," he said quickly, feeling horrible. A long silence fell then, and Matt was lost in thought. Eventually though, when he could tell that Seth was still awake, he said: "I used to assume I was straight. Most straight people do. Then someone asked me... how I knew. And I didn't have an answer. So I guess there's... an open-mindedness. If that.. makes sense."

"It does." Seth nodded rolled onto his good side to look at Matt through the growing darkness. "You've never explored it, though?"

"No. I mean it's pretty recent that I've even questioned it. And I'm afraid of... inadvertently leading someone on, you know? If I turn out to be... just entirely straight."

"I get that," Seth replied, nodding. There was a lighthearted playfulness back in his tone. "Well, you let me know. If you decide, or if you need help deciding. Either way, I'm happy to help."

"Okay." Matt laughed again, but his words sounded serious. "When all this is over, and thus your ability to consent isn't in question, I'll come to California and you can show me the sights --in a datey way."

Heavy eyelids lifted and he frowned. "I am perfectly capable of consenting. But you've got it. I'll take you out on the sail boat. It's just a tiny thing. So you'll have to stay close."

Matt didn't want to get into an argument about whether or not Seth could consent to being the target of potentially romantic interest when he was injured, drugged, and staying in a stranger's home by necessity, so he was relieved when Seth accepted the deal.

"What's sailing like?" He asked after a while.

"Freeing," he replied finally as his eyes settled closed and his arm found a comfortable place to rest on his hip. "There's something different about being the only person around for leagues as opposed to being the only person in your home or in a city and there's all these people but none of them are with you."

"That sounds nice," Matt said quietly. "I look forward to it... but you should probably get some sleep.. you can tell me more about it tomorrow.."

"You should get some sleep," Seth combatted, but he was grinning again. "I'm sure I'll pass out mid-sentence here in a bit. But tell me about who you fought against today?"

Matt acquiesced, rambling quietly about the man. He told Seth how he'd smelled, the arousal and the hunger and the cruelty, and about the woman he'd been following who would never know about any of this. He told him how the man's nails hadn't been trimmed recently, how he was more muscles than brains, but his body was unwashed and his breath fetid. It wasn't the most traditional sort of bedtime story, but he hoped to satisfy Seth's curiosity enough to let him sleep.

And it did. Before Matt could get much beyond the stench of breath, Seth's had evened out into something deeper. He hummed once, but he wasn't aware of the sound coming from his own chest, and soon he was dreaming of the ocean.

When he woke again, quite a few hours had passed and the sky was just beginning to lighten with pre-dawn. Today they had work to do.

Matt was already up, shaved, and dressed in a suit. He never kept the same sleep cycle as most people, unaffected by daylight levels, and so taking four hour naps at any time tended to be all he needed. He was on his computer, fingers skimming over the braille projections and headphones on, working, jacket over the back of his chair. He was ready to go whenever they were, although he knew it would likely be a few hours before they were done showering, eating, and resuming their roles as human beings.

When he heard Seth wake, he stopped what he was doing and headed over to him. "Do you need any help?"

"I need a shower. I feel disgusting. And I need to change out the bandage over these couple stitches. But I'm not sure you want to help me with either thing. But thank you."

Despite his words, Seth struggled to stand, and ended up taking Matt's extended hand when it was offered. "Did I oversleep? I know you said you needed to go to the office today. And I would like to go with you. I can dress as quickly as possible."

"There's no rush. It isn't even seven yet." Matt helped him stay on his feet. "Think we can get Ryan to help you shower? And after, yeah, I can help with the bandaging."

Seth held on to Matt's surprisingly strong arms, and then slid past him to go poke at the snoring Ryan.

It had been years since they'd been together, and they both tried their best to keep things from being awkward as Ryan used his bare hand to wash over Seth's chest and abdomen. All the bruised areas. His hair. And then he offered a singular kiss to Seth's shoulder when they were finished.

"Do you need anything else?" Ryan asked, stepping under the spray of the water to clean himself next.

"No. Thanks. Matt said he'd redo my bandage. Are you going to the office?"

"Not this time. I'm gonna see if I can get that money wired from Sandy and then hopefully at least, be able to get our clothes from the airport. There was a message on my cell saying our bags finally arrived and that they'd deliver them to us. But I think... I think I'll just go get them. So we keep where we're staying quiet, if you're really so worried."

"Yeah. Thanks. I'm going to stay close to Matt then."

"Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"Just be careful. We don't know this guy. And sure, he's an attorney or whatever, but if he's in league with whoever we're dealing with and..."

"We're safe with Matt. He and his friend are as trustworthy as they get."

"But how do you know?"

"I just know." Seth left the bathroom to go find Matt.

Matt had gotten breakfast started while they showered -- fruit, toast, and some fried chicken. Maybe it wasn't the most traditional breakfast, but considering they’d had pancakes for dinner last night it seemed fine. The chicken smelled amazing -- Matt was a damn good cook when he chose to be -- and when it was done and he set it aside to cool, he went and washed his hands, then gestured at Seth to sit.

"I should have said this before showering, but you're both welcome to my clothes," he said, opening the kit up. "You guys can raid the dresser, wear whatever fits, just make sure he helps you, okay?" Matt cleaned the wounds very carefully, then rebandaged them, his hands deft and careful.

"It smells amazing," Seth commented, realizing how hungry he really was.

As Matt bandaged him, Seth watched in silence, and then mentally scolded himself for watching. His eye was still swollen shut. But the split on his lip was healing, and his forearms hurt less than they had the day before. Ultimately, he was impatient to heal and be done with the weakling nerd boy bit.

"Yeah, thanks," he replied at the offer to clothes. "I imagine walking around with drips of my own blood on my clothing, along with rips and scrapes from being on the ground won't likely make me look very friendly. It's bad enough that my face looks the way it does."

Once the two had found some comfortable stuff to wear, Matt served them up the breakfast, which was exactly as delicious as it smelled. While they ate, Foggy texted and Matt's phone read it aloud.

>> I know you are awake. Go back to sleep, asshole. Office at 10.

Matt smiled. He loved Foggy, too.

Seth and Ryan spared a glance between themselves when the message was read aloud. Seth's eyes shifted and his own smile widened as he watched the way Matt reacted to his friend's words.

Ryan smacked Seth in his leg, not thinking about where he was hitting.

Seth gasped, then glared. "Ow. What?!"

"You woke me at dawn and you didn't have to be somewhere until ten?"

It wasn't why Ryan had hit him, and the look they exchanged made it clear they both knew it.

"You needed to get up. I was tired of hearing you snore."

"I don't snore."

"Okay, pal."

Ryan glared, again not about the snoring.

"I said okay."

"Hey, I asked him to wake you," Matt interjected, feeling guilty that there was strife between them over this and entirely missing their silent conversation. "Seth wanted to shower and I was afraid he might slip... blame me." He sounded fairly lighthearted at least. "Besides. It's already eight so... if we have a relaxed morning, we should be right on time. Question though, Ryan -- how are you feeling?"

"See, Ryan. Even Matt was tired of your snoring," Seth joked

"That makes more sense, I suppose," he replied, ignoring Seth and trying to set Matt at ease. "And I'm okay. I look and feel a hell of a lot better than this mess."

"Do you, though? I may be black and blue and cut up. But I'm still a pretty man, Ryan. And you know it."

"Well, you've still got your hair, at least."

"This is true. All hail the Jew fro."

Ryan shook his head, but he was laughing. "Eat your damn chicken."

Right on queue, Seth took a large bite and smiled his victory.

They were a perfectly weird balance between siblings and married and it was impossible not to be charmed by them. Once breakfast was over and Matt had done the dishes, he asked, "Are you coming with us to the office today, Ryan?"

Seth looked at Matt with a narrowed, but almost conspiratorial glare. Maybe Matt hadn't listened while they'd showered. Maybe he was just playing along with the illusion that he wouldn't have been able to hear. Either way, Seth let Ryan answer the same way he had while they'd been showering.

"Think you can tolerate a day with just Seth? He has a tendency to not shut up. Ever."

Matt hadn't listened to their private conversation, and the look of concern he tried to keep off his features as Ryan explained may have given that away.

"I can definitely handle Seth, but I am a little concerned about your safety. If you insist on going, you'll be on high alert, right? Watch your back?"

"Yeah," he replied, taking a bite of his own food. "I'm pretty good at blending in. And even better at getting myself out of tight spaces. Should be fine. Everything will be done in cash once I get the money. Unless... do you think it's better to have the bags delivered?"

Seth stood, moving to the counter to grab his bottle of pills, and then went back to sit down, wincing a little as he did so.

"If you'd say something..."

"I'm fine. You two can't wait on me hand and foot. If I need help, I'll ask for it."

Matt considered, then shook his head. "Going in person is probably the most reliable option. Take my cell, though, and call Foggy if you get into any trouble. And..." Matt got up and went to find the spare key, giving it to Ryan along with his phone. "Remember that the most important thing here is that you both are alive at the end of the day, okay? Your safety matters more than anything else."

Ryan was beginning to get the vibe that Matt might be more than just an attorney, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. So he lifted the phone as a sort of gesture of thanks, and then nodded.

Seth sighed and his head fell forward. "Matt, you'll have to excuse my brother. He's an idiot and has way too difficult a time stringing words together. He said thanks. And he'll be careful."

"Right. Sorry."

Matt chuckled. "Thank you for the translation. Okay. Good. I'm going to go work until you feel ready to go, Seth, and then we'll head in. Just let me know."

Seth agreed, stood carefully, and then shuffled his way back to bed. Matt's clothes were comfortable, if a little big, and Seth wished there wasn't this looming thing over their heads. This knowledge that somehow, they're going to be found guilty for... whatever happened.

He pulled his phone back out, opening the book he'd purchased and had only made it about a paragraph in when Ryan appeared in the doorway.

"I'm gonna go ahead and go. I've talked to Sandy. He said it's gone through. So, I should just be able to pick up the money, then catch a cab back to the airport. I'll let you know the updates as I receive them."

Seth nodded. "Be safe."

Ryan looked again at Matt. "You too."

The day passed fairly quietly -- at least for Seth -- once they were at the office later. Foggy and Matt came together and the energy between the two seemed to instantly crackle to life as they worked, making phone calls, talking, going through the police reports, and getting hold of other witnesses. Around three in the afternoon, Matt left, and Foggy finally took a break.

"He went back to the station," he said, going over to their kitchenette to put coffee on. "You want some coffee? Or kinda stale bagels? Matt might be gone a while. Also, I'm not sure how much you picked up on, but things are actually going pretty good. Apparently none of the witnesses want to get involved and the security footage from the bar got 'lost,'" he actually made air quotes, "so it'll just be a he said, they said, and you guys are the ones with the nasty wound pictures. I mean not that that's a good thing, but... we didn't expect it to go like this, honestly. This is good."

"Stale... bagels? I'm not sure I understand. Listen. We'll have cash later today. If you can foot the bill for this afternoon, I'm going to find a way to introduce you to a life where stale bagels and bitter coffee are no longer acceptable."

"Stale bagels are totally never acceptable, but when ninety-nine percent of our clients pay us in food or like, painting, sometimes stale bagels are the only way to be." He pulled one of the almost hard objects out of the bag and knocked it on the counter. "Hear that? That's the sound of my partner having a heart that's waaaay too big. He won't turn anyone down. I mean I get it, kinda, but man, we had a pretty sweet gig at a place with free, amazing, perfect New York bagels every day, and you know, it takes a real punk to walk away from that... but we're punks." Thunk, thunk. "They're not so bad once they're toasted.."

Seth ran his hands down his face, shaking his head. "No. No. Hang on."

He text his dad, waited about five minutes, smiling awkwardly at Foggy until Sandy text back. "I'm a California spoiled brat, and sometimes it fucking pays off. We'll have a delivery in about ten minutes."

With an awkward smile, he leaned back in the chair he'd rolled over. "Also, for the record, Ryan and I will pay you in full, in actual dollars."

"While full, actual dollars sound great, if it'll cause a hardship or anything... we're not looking to put anyone in debt, you know?" Foggy turned back to start trying to cut the bagel open, but then looked back. "Wait... did you just... say you ordered food? Um, I might love you. No bagel bricks?" He held the bad bagel up questioningly, the light of hope in his eyes.

"Yes. Bagels and cream cheese and the whole lot is on the way. Even a jug of orange juice. And technically my father ordered them. So I'll send your declaration of love his way.

"And for the record, I know New York is all about endless amounts of old money. But... you cannot set me back. I don't care if you charge as much as your most expensive competitors. If you get us out, you'll be worth every dollar. My... grandfather essentially owned all of Newport. And granted he was broke when he died, my mother did well and just... you can't make me go broke. You'll get paid."

"Holy... crap. Um. Thank you. Thank you. We've been... thank you. Newport must be pretty amazing, apparently the people from there are waaaaay nicer than like, pretty much everyone in the city."

There was a knock on the office door then, which surprised Foggy. "That was quick..." his momentary elation quickly cooled. "Hey how about you just... roll into my office and shut the door, kay? That was way too quick."

"No. No the people in Newport are terrible. But Ryan and I are annoyingly well off thanks to my parents. Our parents, I guess. I don't know. He was adopted into our family when he was sixteen. So, our family..."

Seth's brows furrowed and he nodded, pushing himself back into Foggy's office, watching the door close. "Be safe," he called through.

Foggy gripped the bagel brick tightly, fairly certain it would be an amazing weapon, and then went to open the door -- and shouted in delight.

"Andrew!!" He threw his arms around Andrew and crushed him with a hug, then stepped back. "Seth, it's okay, it's a friend. Andrew, wow, come in." He dragged him in and shut the door and turned to give Seth a delighted smile when he reappeared, then looked back at Andrew. "Are you actually back in New York now? Hey, Seth, this is Andrew Gale, the nicest corporate bloodsucker you'll ever meet. Andrew, our client Seth."

"Nice to meet you, Seth," Andrew said with a smile, and he offered Seth his hand. Perhaps it was strange, but even though Andrew's suit was neatly tailored and had likely cost a mint, he didn't seem out of place here. He looked completely natural and at-ease standing next to Foggy, and somehow didn't make Foggy look at all frumpy in contrast. "I hope things are going well?"

"Nice... to meet you, too. My mother would insist that I apologize for my appearance. But, it is the reason I'm here. Botched plastic surgery. Obviously."

He gave a crooked smile and tried to straighten out the shirt he was wearing.

"I'm Seth Cohen. If you guys have business to do, I can make myself scarce."

"No business. I just came by for a quick visit. But if I'm interrupting..."

"Nope. Late lunch break." Foggy held up the bagel. "But not this. I was going to brain you with this if you were a bad guy."

Andrew couldn't help but look concerned. "Another of those cases?"

"You betcha. Uh." Foggy put the bagel away. "So how was New Orleans?"

"Restorative," Andrew smiled, then looked back at Seth. "You're in the best hands here, you know. Nelson and Murdock never give up on anyone."

Seth nodded. "They've taken good care of me thus far. Offering a place to stay, getting us out of jail. Matt has made food for me and Ryan. I feel... pretty fortunate."

Offering an awkward smile, he pulled out his phone to check on Ryan. He looked up again when there was another knock on the door.

"That should be lunch."

Foggy went and got it, and he was oblivious to the way Andrew's eyes followed him, to the little way the other lawyer changed his position in order to be able to jump to help him if needed.

The smell of the food was amazing -- Foggy had been on ramen for the last few days -- and he all but kissed the delivery man before bringing it in. "Seth, you're an actual angel. Andrew, have you...?"

"I'm good, thanks. But can you do something for me?"

Foggy went still. "You need a favor from me?"

"Just a small one. Tell Matt that -- I've met Miss Natchios. She's in town."

"His ex? I don't understand."

"He will," Andrew said, and he sounded a little sad. He nodded to Seth and bid them both a polite farewell, then slipped out.

"Weird. Super weird. Sometimes, I don't wanna know what kind of stuff Matt gets mixed up in... anyway. El feast!!! Uh. Fiesta! You're amazing. Okay. You sit still, you're all banged up, just tell me what you need." He had laid the food out on Karen's desk, since she was taking a sick day, and Foggy was fairly certain he'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

Seth watched Andrew with narrowed eyes, but as he bid them both adeiu, Seth managed a smile and a weak wave.

The bagels did look amazing. Smelled amazing. "Blueberry. With plain cream cheese. Then a cinnamon with strawberry cream cheese." He smirked. "I can spread my own schmear. I think there's plain cream cheese in there too."

Foggy helped him prepare his meal before seeing to his own. When he bit into it, he sighed with genuine pleasure and closed his eyes. It took a minute for him to chew and swallow. When he did, he looked at Seth. "Yep. Angel. Are you okay, though? Did Andrew freak you out? You seemed to kinda, go back in a shell or something. No offense intended, and totally not judging if you're shy."

"No. He's nice. I like him. I... I'm not sure why he made me feel like a loser teenager, a kid, but I'm just... tired, I think. But I talked to Ryan. We have money. We've put an express order on replacement debit cards, but you guys will get cash, at least an upfront payment."

He smiled softly, chewing. "I didn't mean to be... unfriendly, or anything, to your friend. He seems very kind. But he is the most kind of intimidating to a guy like me."

"I feel you," Foggy nodded. "He's all smooth and put together. He's like a real life shark. All his kind are. I mean not that sharks aren't real, but.. it took me a while to stop feeling like.. the fat, sloppy, broke-ass reject around him. I still do most of the time, when we have to work with others like him. He's like... the epitome of everything I wanted to be as a kid, but never was..." Foggy sighed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to take you for a walk down Foggy lane."

"All of his kind?"

"Fancy lawyers from big firms, decades behind the names, paid their debts in one or two cases... the big lawyers."

"Gotcha. And... It's inappropriate. I understand this. But... who's the girl?"

#blindlyburning #one shot #the way i see it #part two

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