ain't worried

🍹 - grab some drinks to cool off

Mateo's lips twitched with amusement after Reid's accusations. "Sounds like somebody's seeing what they want to see," he replied, barely disguising his intentions with his words. He watched Reid shift, just as dedicated to keeping his gaze on him as the other was. "You're the one who's been looking at me since we got here. Figured I should give you something to look at," he mentioned casually before taking another slow and deliberate sip, having taken his time to get his lips around the straw again. His gaze finally flicked briefly to Reid’s mouth, then back to his eyes, holding onto his stare. “Kinda hard to cool off when you’re sitting across from the reason you’re overheated,” Mateo stated simply as he stretched his own leg, brushing against Reid’s just enough to register, but not enough to be an innocent happenstance.

"It seems we are well suited in that regard then." Iris answered with a little laugh when he called her a pain in the ass. "I don't. But I am also aware of what I am. I think it's important to own whatever that happens to be."

"You sound pretty inspirational there," Mateo commented with a soft chuckle. "I'm glad you own things about yourself. You deserve to be as unapologetic about who you are just as anyone else is," he said. "Now I'm the one who is starting to sound inspirational."

"Well.. what can I say, I know what I'm doing in the bedroom..." Reid spoke as he gave a big stretch and a long confident sigh, clearly playing it up a little. "But yeah, we're not just that now on either end. Once you have me, you get all of me, the better and the worse." Despite what most thought, and as he had pointed out to Mateo before, he was more private than he portrayed. Only those he really trusted got close enough to realise that.

"You sure do. And so do I– so when you put that kind of knowledge together it'd be a crime not to make the most fo what we can do, right?" chuckling after he followed Reid's lead of playing it up. "I'd say that anyone who has earned that should consider it a privilege," Mateo stated when the other mentioned he was an all in kind of guy.

"Oh definitely nothing wrong in that respect. You've got me to stick around this long after all." Reid laughed as they discussed it, sipping on his beer in a relaxed manner. "Good, I would hate to think you were struggling with something on your own. You'd never let me do that." Whilst it hadn't always been easy for Reid to ask for help because he had a habit of feeling like a burden, it was true that Mateo would be there for him in similar circumstances.

"And how lucky I am for it," he grinned back at that. He'd always admired Reid as a player and had only had enjoyable interactions with the other, but getting closer with him in more ways than one had been a blessing in his eyes. "You're right, I wouldn't," Mateo had to agree when Reid pointed out that he wouldn't let him struggling with something on his own. It only made sense to let people in when he was going through something similar.

"It's not like I have complained about that at all because I'm never bored with just your company." If anything, time sometimes went too fast because of just how much he enjoyed himself with Mateo. Still, even though he knew he meant something to the man, hearing him insinuate that he cared about him made warmth flood his stomach and chest. "That works both ways you know. But if you ever really need me you can call me too. Doesn't matter what I'm doing, I'll stop if it's urgent."

"And thank Merlin for that. If anyone was ever bored around me I would seriously need to check what I was doing wrong," Mateo chuckled. He didn't have too many fears but being considered boring could probably be one of them. As someone who was so used to moving things around for others, it was touching to hear Reid say that to him in return, "That really means a lot to me. I'll keep it in mind."

"I'm surprised we haven't really spent time together already though I figure that most of the time when I come over to yours we don't make it out of the bedroom much, do we." He admitted with a laugh. "It's nice to have someone be so open. Not many people can manage that." Mateo seemed willing to expose even the parts of himself he probably thought were less interesting or embarrassing. He was simply comfortable in himself. "It's not like you have to so don't worry if there isn't the time." Reid gently brushed if off when Mateo said he could try and see if there was time in their schedules. "I don't wanna take all your downtime off you."

"It seems you two have been passing ships and I have been keeping you to myself a lot of the time, that's also a fair point," he chuckled when Reid figured why the two hadn't had all that much down time together. He had confidence that there would be opportunity for that in the future however. "There will be times where I'm really busy, sure. But I find a make the time for those I care about. And make up for it whenever there's a last minute change of plans," Mateo spoke truthfully.

"Oh, and we wouldn't want that now would we." Reid laughed, feeling like Mateo's ego was well earned at the very least which was more than he could say for most people. "Ah maybe I should make some plans with him some time then. Not that I'd ever shit talk you and honestly, I was gonna say he could tell me some embarrassing stories of you but I'm pretty sure you'd tell me yourself if I asked." Reid admitted with a little nod of his head. "So am I. I am pretty sure I'll be asking you to do it more often after the first time."

"You two would love one another– I'm quite confident in that," Mateo chuckled when Reid mentioned spending some time with his best friend. He was also sure that Bes would me more than happy to get to know the other. "Yeah, I'm not really one to hide things if I can help it," he agreed with a nod, "But I'm sure he'd still find a way to embarrass me if he really tried," he mentioned with another laugh. "If we could find times in our schedules it can be a more regular thing– I don't see why not."

Reid always enjoyed Mateo's company. He was never bored in his presence but he was finding, that the more time he spent with the dark haired man that the more he realised it wasn't just about that for him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so content in someone's company the way he did with Mateo. Even after the heavy conversation they had just had, Reid found himself surprisingly relaxed as he settled back on the sofa with his drink and a small smile playing over his lips. "I'm not gonna argue with you on that one." Because he really was special. "A date huh? Do I get flowers or chocolates too?" Reid playfully teased the man. "But yeah, we'll align our calendars for that."

"I'd hope not. It'd be incredibly confusing to my already inflated ego," Mateo commented with amusement. "Although I'm sure my best friend would love you to knock it down a few pegs," he joked playfully. "I don't see how we couldn't arrange that," he shrugged with a little smirk when Reid joked about flowers and chocolates. It was sweet to see Reid seemed to be happy about the idea. Mateo was too. "Perfect. I'm already looking forward to it."

Hearing the other male say that left Reid genuinely speechless for a moment. He found himself shifting on the couch, drawing himself forward on one knee as he cupped Mateo's cheek, tilting his head up gently and pressing a kiss to his lips. It wasn't full of heat as one might normally expect from Reid, but significantly sweeter. "Pretty sure there was never really a question there because I feel like I've always been clear on my answer." He stated with a soft grin playing over his lips as he looked down at Mateo. Reid planted a final peck to his lips before dropping back onto the sofa once more. "I hope you know how pretty bloody unreal you are."

Mateo welcomed the action, kissing Reid back and matching its tenderness. There had been something so sweet and warm about it, his gaze still watching Reid even when he'd dropped back down on the sofa. While he could understand that the little things like this mattered to Reid given how used to compromising he was in the past, he didn't realize just how much of an impact they made until he saw the other express his gratitude in the ways he knew best. Mateo had always been the type of guy who liked to show up for others and make them feel seen, but he'd never had someone appear so grateful for it. "Unreal? I'd hardly say so much," he snorted softly, "But I suppose I am pretty special," he finished off with a light smirk. "It's a date then."

"I'm pretty fucking sure you know you have that kind of effect on me already without me having to remind you." Reid snorted out, a smile playing across his features. There had been plenty of times where that fact had shown to be true after all. "You're curious are you?" Though he'd not had anything particular in mind about how it would be made perfect, Reid considered it for a moment. "I mean, for a start it would be a whole day thing rather than part of a day-- not that I'm complaining, I just mean that a whole day of just being able to do activities starting with waking up lazily is where I'd go first." He said with a chuckle. "It's also very situational."

"We can totally make the plans for a full day like that sometime then," Mateo offered. While the offer seemed to come off casually and as though he barely had to think twice about putting it forward, it was still very much genuine. Especially after everything he'd learned about Reid, he wanted the other to know that he was very much interested in spending time with the other on a frequent basis. "If you'd like to that is."

"So you just happen to get yourself two drinks?" Iris said with a raised eyebrow, though the smile playing over her lips suggested she wasn't actually looking for an answer, more that she was teasing the man. Taking the drink, Iris sipped at it before humming. "I am surprised you can tolerate me too."

Mateo shrugged simply before sipping on his own beverage. "You're a bit of a pain in the ass, sure. But you're not all bad," he grinned back at her when she'd said it was a surprise he could tolerate her as well. "Don't sell yourself too short there, Iris."

"I didn't before but now I do. Pretty sure that's gonna distract me on the run up." Because Reid already found himself excited at the prospect of their time together. He always looked forward to it but this was something different for them. Plus it was sharing something they both enjoyed too. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he'd gone up in the air with anyone who wasn't on his team... well not like this anyway. "Sounds pretty close to a perfect way to spend a day for me."

"Distract you? While I wouldn't want to pull your focus so much at the same time I'm flattered that it'd have that affect," Mateo grinned in reply. He knew he'd really be looking forward to it too. "Pretty close to perfect?" he quirked a brow at that. "And what would make it perfect? I'm curious."

The smile just grew on Reid's face as he saw the others response to his words, giving him a playfully heated look in return though he didn't seem in any rush to develop that further at the moment. "Um..." He hummed softly, dragging his phone out of his pocket at the mention of next week, flicking through it until he got onto his calendar and shifting closer to the man so he could share his schedule with him. "This is what it's looking like for me. Do you have any time that works with it?"

"That Wednesday is looking pretty promising. It seems as though we'd finish around the same time," Mateo pointed out, gesturing in Reid's schedule as he held it out to him. "Do you have any plans then? If not, we can make a whole afternoon to evening of it? Grab some dinner and then head up into the air to catch the sunset and all?"

"I mean you could, but you'd be lying. Though I suspect it would be a good way to get me to prove you wrong." Reid gave as an afterthought, a soft snort of amusement falling from his lips. "You know, with how competitive I can be, I don't feel like we need to go there with this. I think it's nice to just enjoy what you pointed out in the first place, the wind in your hair and shit, you know?" When Mateo added about catching a sunset, Reid found himself smiling despite himself. "Yeah... that sound like a really nice evening. I'd love to do that sometime with you."

"And there's something very enjoyable about the thought of that," licking his lips absentmindedly at the thought. When Reid seemed open to keep it as a low stakes sort of flight, Mateo smiled. "It's a date then," he was already looking forward to their plans. "I've got some availability next week. If your schedule allows for it we can figure something out maybe?" he then suggested with a little shrug.

"I can be very tempting, as you've learned first hand." Reid smiled, feeling lighter as they joked around. Whilst getting the heavy stuff off his chest had been nice in its own way, it was good to know they could always fall back into this relaxed conversation too. "Not that I'd be opposed to it at any point really." He considered a moment later, giving a gentle shrug of his shoulders. "I don't blame you. There is nothing like it. We've never flown together before though, have we?" He certainly felt like he would remember something like that. "When we get a nice day, we should go out and take the brooms for a spin. Just a ride... well unless you're feeling competitive."

"There's absolutely no way of denying that," Mateo smirked. The two had a bad habit of teasing one another and leaning into each other's irresistibility at the worst of times. "That admittedly sounds amazing, Reid," he then said, enjoying the idea of going for a casual flight together. "If you'd like to make it competitive, we can. But there's something about taking it easy that sounds appealing to me too. Maybe we can even catch a beautiful sunset or something."