𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔫𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯

          ♰          gemma turns her face to gauge his expression, but doesn’t retreat from his  space ( a refusal to back down, a mother lion guarding the mouth of her den ),  claiming it as her own ( when you pose a threat to her family you forfeit the privilege of a PERSONAL               BUBBLE ), the tension between them as tight and tangible as a wire. 

❛ oh, please. like you could give a shit about my family. the only thing you care about is your little fantasy world. you’ll toss jax aside faster than a used rubber once you realize that what you SEE in him? the thing that’s got you so mixed up you actually think you care about him?                                         isn’t there. you just want it to be. ❜

                                               he may fear the woman,  but his response comes quick.  gemma wouldn’t let up,  Matt knew that,  and maybe that was admirable more than anything,  but that didn’t mean she was always right like she clearly thought she was.  of course,  Matt didn’t want to argue,  but there was no way he was going to let her push him around forever.  he was no scared puppy.

❛  the road to my heart ain’t paved with shit talking my family, man.  ❜

his tone is unheated but matter of fact: he won’t have matt boxing him into a different category  —  setting him up high on some moral tier above the rest of the club, as though jax hasn’t been waist deep in the shit right along with the rest of them  —  all so matt can justify the alliance brewing between them. jax is no lost puppy, knew exactly what he was getting into when he took the patch  —  the sooner matt accepts that, the better.

❛  you wanna get together later and talk about your ass? am i hearing that right? ❜

matt turns his face toward him and jax mirrors the motion on reflex, noses nearly brushing, the warm air that carries matt’s words feathering over jax’s smiling mouth. there’s a moment where a kiss seems unavoidable  —  but then it passes, and jax is laughing and moving away.

❛ that’s right. you can’t see. so you got no room to argue. ❜ 

                         ❛     I’m sorry,  it-  it wasn’t my intention to  shit talk  your family.     ❜

sure,  it had come out that way,  but the words held no real malice,  they never could with Jax.  he’s met the sons plenty of times,  had the same conversation about their line of work as he had with Jax,  and they really were all about the same when it came to that.  STUPID AND DETERMINED.  somewhere,  deep down,  he admired them for their work ethic,  even if he didn’t exactly approve of the job they did.  but Jax was still different somehow and if he didn’t want to accept  THAT,  it wasn’t Matt’s business,  he supposed.

                        ❛     It’d just be more appropriate...  to do that,  don’t you think  ?     ❜

his own heart rate speeding up is all he hears for a few seconds,  lips tingling with the short distance between them and Jax’s own.  He wants to lean in,  desperately wants to close the distance,   (  but when did Matthew Murdock become desperate for anyone?  )   but before he can Jax is laughing  -  a beautiful sound  -  and it’s over.

                       ❛     well,  you’ve got me there.  why are you so adamant about this  ?                                       how important can it be to you to call me a cat  ?     ❜

           jax nods as he slides his rings off his fingers, pocketing them into his cut. 

❛ great. glad we got that settled. all you gotta do now is shut your mouth and raise your fists. ❜

        he strides forward and slams his palms into matt’s chest hard, egging him on.  

Matt simply goes with the shove,  soft laugh falling from lips with a sigh quickly following as fingers move up to smooth his shirt back down.  Jax was  CUTE  when he got all aggressive,  Matt had to admit that.

                     ❛     that’s very polite of you to remove your rings,  my face thanks you.     ❜

he spins on his heel  /  ALL FOR SHOW  /  before leg kicks out to catch against Jax’s ankles.  He goes with it  /  FINISHING THE JOB  /  and yanks the other’s feet right out from under him,  before taking a safe step back.

                 ❛     who said anything about me being     HELPLESS,      Jax    —             I don’t recall ever giving you any indication that I didn’t want you to hit me back.     ❜

      HE’S QUIET  ;  words seemingly stolen with breath catching in his throat as the other moves closer to him  /  TOO CLOSE.  this definitely isn’t where he’d assumed the conversation would go,  and for the first time in a long time,  he doesn’t even know how to respond to such threats.  these words coming from anyone else would cause a  SCOFF  or simply be  BRUSHED OFF,  but Gemma is a terrifying lady,  everyone knows that.

         ❛     —————  I’m not...  trying to hurt your family,  I’m trying to keep them out of trouble.     ❜