ALL OF US.

-- HER COMMENT MAKES him laugh, and he furrows his eyebrows slightly because he doesn’t exactly expect it. “i think you’re adorable,” it’s patronizing in a playful sort of way, and he narrows his eyes at her before he orders them both a rum and coke. he turns back to her, leaning his elbows on the counter in front of him. “you goin’ to acacia’s party?” he wasn’t invited directly, but his entire team is going, as well as max -- so he might as well join them. especially the weekend after the biggest game of the season.

-- “YOU’RE BACK, HUH?” it’s been a while since he’s last seen her -- he can’t quite pinpoint how long, but long enough to pique his curiosity as to why she was gone. he won’t ask, because it could be personal, and he doesn’t know her like that -- but it’s not like he doesn’t want to. he slides over to sit closer to her at the bar; it’s a welcome break from the band of teammates he showed up with, who are growing rowdier by the minute. “----in the least flirtatious way possible, lemme buy you a drink. as a welcome back, or whatever.”

aj: i’ll be done in, like, 30 minutes

– HE MISHEARS IT at first. it’s why his answer is a curt, final “of course i did,” and the incredulous look on val’s face makes his skin crawl. the heat in his cheeks is probably visible by now – he’s uncomfortable, he can feel it, she can see it, he knows that. she repeats herself then, her voice cool and collected as she always is ( he’s never been intimidated by her the way he knows so many people are – she’s not scary, just intriguing ), and suddenly the air is thick with a tension he can’t explain. the question wasn’t about the past. it wasn’t about how he used to feel – how max used to make him feel. it’s about how he feels NOW, how max makes him feel NOW, and it’s one of those questions he can’t quite answer, see, because he doesn’t know for sure. he turns his body a bit, but his eyes linger on her, unsure of himself – it’s rare that he lets anyone see him with his guard withered away to nothing. ( perhaps, it’s just THAT – the fact that he has such a volatile reaction – that gives away the answer. ) “i —–” his breath hitches slightly, and he shakes his head with a slow sigh. “i —- yeah. i do.”

– “i, aleki james lance, have never lied to anybody about anything in my entire life.”

@alekijames: @ayeviva you literally dyed my hair for me. that insult was invalid

“—-well, shit, i’d have one if i could keep mine on my body for more than twenty minutes.”

-- “NOW SHE’S calling me insane! tread lightly, babygirl, you just might hurt my feelings.” he sneered playfully, then, turning away from her in case she swatted at him for the nickname. he let her wrap her arms around him, settling into her space with one of his hips leaning against the edge of the counter -- he was pretty sure he had a bruise there as he could feel the slight, dull ache ( from practice or the fight, he wasn’t sure which ). “and what if i’m not in one piece, huh? y’promise you’ll put me back together again?” his voice was a murmur, considering she was close enough to hear him now, a slight, fond smile on his face. “----you did, but i’d never take a bite of your slice. i thought we had something special.”

-- “A WHOLE WEEK? damn, that’s an accomplishment on our part.” he studied her for a moment as she put her hair into a bun, narrowing his eyes briefly. “i don’t blame you. they definitely sounded like a buncha’ drunk assholes. don’t i would want to pull up to hang out with them if they called me like that, and they’re my teammates.” he chuckled lightly, moving a hand up to run a hand through his newly-brunette hair. “next time, i’ll call you personally. consider it a raincheck. ----- got a bit of a headache, i guess -- but nothing too bad. i’m samoan, y’know, we handle our liquor like nobody’s business.”

-- “IT TOOK YOU two hours to finally jump from that cliff when we went cliffjumping in july and you’re criticizing me for not being spontaneous?” he raised a challenging brow at her, finishing off his pizza slice and crossing his arms as he looked down at her. “i do, what makes you think i don’t?” he grinned playfully, knowing full well that he was one of the roughest players on the team. he scoffed lightly, giving a dramatic roll of his eyes. “it wasn’t fair when you took a bite of MY pizza -- get your own, little lady.”

-- “WHO’S TO SAY i didn’t come up with that on the spot? i’m a spontaneous kinda guy, y’know,” he chuckled lightly, narrowing his eyes at her with a quiet, thoughtful hum, as if he had to think about it. “i could,” he pondered playfully, knowing full well how agitated she got when he got riled up -- the last time they’d been at a party together, it seemed like she spent more time worrying over him than actually partying. not that he was complaining, of course; he had a bad habit of being rowdy at parties. “this cute face has been through a lot in the past week, so be careful,” he warned, ducking his head down to meet her halfway in the kiss -- except she didn’t kiss him, and stole a bite from his pizza instead. “wha ------ hey!” he let out an incredulous laugh, holding his pizza slice a bit higher. “get your own!”

-- “YOU REALLY thought this whole thing through, huh?” he grinned at her playfully, cocking an eyebrow before he pushed himself to half-perch on one of the barstools. “can’t control whether i get hurt or not, pretty lady.” except he could, to an extent -- if he kept his head protected and didn’t make any rash decisions, he’d probably be fine. he cleared his throat and looked up at her with a clueless glint in his eyes, before offering a tight-lipped smile. “you’re gonna regret asking for a kiss when i got pizza in my mouth,” he covered his mouth with his hand while he spoke before moving around the counter to press a dramatic, greasy kiss to her cheek.

-- HE LOOKED UP from his phone where he was posted at the kitchen counter, waiting impatiently for max to finish showering so they could go about their plans for the day. “------- the, uh ----- which one... ?” he cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes at the myriad of spices. “------ you’re gonna have to, like, give me some details, man. what color is it?”