abby

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:

anthony green has never really considered himself athletic. he played baseball for a few years in elementary school, but beyond that and a handful of gym visits per year, he’s not one to jump on the opportunity. between music and life in general, he doesn’t have that kind of time, that kind of dedication. not until his apartment is threatened and groceries are few and far between and he’s so desperate for money he *actually* follows through with that newspaper clipping ad he saw in passing.

he had told himself, “just a few fights” and “just until rent is paid this month” and “just enough to fill my gas tank”. just until this, just until that. but he got good quickly, and too many people were betting on him, he got tied up in a lot of the wrong crowds.

so every other night he’s in the ring. it is always loud and stuffy and his head hurts before he even takes any hits. it’s never anywhere nice. someone’s grimy, unfinished basement. an obvious alleyway. a large cornfield in the middle of nowhere. an old warehouse for the bigger, more important fights.

and by the time geoff is in the picture, anthony is too far in it to get out.

geoff loves anthony. there’s no doubt about that. but god, does he worry. it was supposed to be ‘nothing’, geoff knows that. he knows it was supposed to be temporary. but it isn’t, and it’s stressful and scary to watch.

so every time anthony comes home bruised and bloodied, geoff will sit with him on the couch until he catches his breath. he holds shaky hands. finds a wet washcloth to wipe blood from them. it always gets stuck near the nails, and anthony spends half an hour scrubbing them clean.

during the scrubbing, geoff usually puts on a pot of coffee. he’ll clean off the kitchen table- always covered in notebooks and pens and packs of guitar strings- so that they can sit there and debrief. talk. pretend the fights aren’t bothering them. geoff specifically pretends that said fights aren’t the only reason they can make rent usually.

and then anthony falls asleep with his head down on the kitchen table. and then geoff stands there and brushes the dried blood from his hair.

in the morning, anthony will shower and change and go to practice with his band. geoff will make them breakfast then sit at his desk and write for a bit. and neither will talk about the fighting.