thoughts on buck finding out dex is ur ex/side piece and vice versa??
This ask is so fun, I had to set down everything I was doing when I read it in my inbox LOL, you're driving these men crazy!
For starters, let me just say, the word "ex" and/or "side piece" doesn't exist in Dex's vocabulary. Like at all. Given he probably lost his virginity to you, you're the only living feminine presence in his life, most likely his north star...the list of reasons goes on and on and on as to why Dex doesn't believe in things like situationships, the word casual, or break-ups. It's just not an option for him.
In the "exes" scenario, if Dex really did think the two of you were splitting, he might as well be dead. Deceased. Six feet under. A ghost. No point in living anymore if the light of his life is gone. When everything is said and done, I don't doubt after getting his first taste of love- only to have it taken away- would result in anything other than a gun in his mouth. Which is why he has no choice other than to attempt to delude himself into thinking the two of you are still together.
But deep down I think Dex isn't delusional per se (about this anyhow), his self consciousness and insecurity makes him a firm believer that you wouldn't want anything to do with him. That this was bound to happen eventually. Inwardly, Dex knows it's likely over for the two of you...he just can't accept it. The amount of holes punched in the walls, the amount of people winding up dead as a doorknob on the news from Bullseye, the sheer amount of crash outs- it's almost like witnessing a child throw a tantrum (just with less petulance, and more distress.)
Not to mention you're likely working with Fisk in this scenario if you're in a new relationship with Buck. There is a bitter resentment inside Dex festering day by day for you. And don't get me started on their thoughts on each other.
There genuinely isn't a word in the English language that can encapsulate the frenzied, manic, pure hatred that Dex would have towards Buck. It feels like a viceral loss of self control. In Dex's eyes, it feels like this fucking nobody just came in and put its (yes, it) filthy hands on you. It stole you. Those are the words that Dex clings onto. You were stolen from him. They repeat in his head like a mantra. He doesn't sleep. He can't eat. All he can do is sit and stare at the cracked hole in his wall. Throw knives at pictures of you or Buck on the screen of his TV. White knuckle a gun while he cleans it, readying himself for his next mission. To get you back.
Dex really doesn't just hate him. Hate's too small. Too weak. What Dex feels is closer to revulsion. He sees Buck as a thief- a criminal- a snake. Every time he pictures that thing breathing the same air as you, smiling at you, touching you...itโs like someone's dragging a knife across the inside of his skull. Deliberately.
I've talked about how Dex has a tendency to mythologize everything. Everything gets turned into some grand, cosmic narrative inside that head of his. He becomes obsessed with balancing the scales. In Dex's mind, the universe has rules, and those rules were violated the second that it laid a hand on you. So now he has to correct it. He has to restore order. The scales have to balance, no matter how much blood it takes.
I wouldn't be surprised if in his head, Dex views Buck as something akin to the literal devil. He, in fact, has to delude himself into thinking that Buck is this supernatural, demonic evil that crawled up from somewhere filthy just to corrupt the one pure thing Dex ever had. In his broken logic, you werenโt just taken by another man. You were tempted. Seduced. Like Eve and the apple.
It doesn't exactly have to be Buck, either. I feel like this sentiment applies to anyone you would see after Dex. Although, I do think Buck's natural charm and fairly polished and attractive looks don't help Dex's superstitious narrative- or the fact he's Fisk's right hand. Lucifer was God's anointed guardian. Lucifer was the protecting creature of heaven, considered perfect in beauty and wisdom. Sounds familiar....
Dex wants to put a round between its eyes so bad his trigger finger twitches just thinking about its name. Dex wants to watch the light go out from its face and feel absolutely nothing except relief that the rot is finally gone. He wants to make it slow. He wants to make it personal.
He has to convince himself that Buck is a trial. That this is a test- a test he will overcome- and that he is determined to pass. Just you wait and don't you worry. He'll save you from this evil.
Which leads me into Buck's perspective of this all.
Both Buck and Dex seem to have a savior/white knight complex when it comes to this dynamic. They both believe they can save you and protect you from the other. Guaranteed, Dex's point of view is a lot more melodramatic and paranoid.
Well, while Dex is going batshit insane in his little corner, Buck is taking this all quite well. Surprisingly well. So well, in fact, you'd never guess that your gentleman lies awake every night staring at the slow spin of the ceiling fan, jaw tight, mind running through a hundred methodical ways he could make Benjamin Leonard Poindexter disappear.
Just one clean opportunity.
See, Poindexter is a problem that Buck needs to take care of. Poindexter is an animal. Buck hates that he still lives rent-free in your head. Put plainly, Buck would like to give you his word that that psychotic fuck will be put down like a dog. And Buck is a very creative man. There are times he thinks a bullet would be too good for a man such as Benjamin Leonard Poindexter. How satisfying it would be to watch that twitchy, obsessive little sniper realize too late that the hunter had become the hunted. To see the exact moment Dex understands he's just a loose end that needs tying off.
And, are you feeling sad? Downcast after such a split? Don't worry, sweetheart. Buck will make you feel better. He'll be there for you, and hey, we saw what we did with Heather. Exposure therapy can come in a LOT of different ways...
He wants to end the threat. Permanently. He wants to be the last man standing between you and anything that could ever hurt you again.
He's your man on a mission, now.
Buck's jealousy has a tendency to masquerade as protectiveness. Buck is dead-set in believing that this man is a madman. Convincing you that killing him is necessary. I wouldn't be surprised if Buck drives himself a smidge insane over this too...if Dex's white knight complex is bad, Buck's is downright terrible. Given Dex's track record, I have a feeling Buck would construct a narrative of his own- although it's much less based in divinity- and more of his own suspicion that Dex is a complete monster.
I can truly see Buck attempting to convince you that Dex abused you. Even if Dex never laid a hand on you, I can see Buck carefully manipulating you into recognizing just how unhealthy and unstable a relationship with a man like Poindexter is. Never minding the fact Buck himself is a literal hitman. It's in the way he gives a small shake of the head, almost sorrowful. A soft tut of pity clicking behind his teeth and a kiss to your forehead. And then tells you that you are a victim.
Which is all the more reason for you to let him handle it.
Buck truly sees himself as the significantly more stable choice. He won't show you how much it bothers him, he's playing the long game. He really is incredibly protective over you. He personally thinks he's bringing you back down to reality after your relationship with Dex, and he can be quite firm in his opinion that Dex is a deranged assailant. An abuser.
Remember that scene with Daniel? Buck's "No. It's not flattering." With that disgusted look on his face? And then subtly threatening Daniel to focus on the task at hand? That's what I'm picturing the moment you defend Dex or your past relationship.
He'll snap you out of it by snapping at you from time to time. Bring you back down to Earth. Maybe even delicately threaten you to focus on him in a turn of possessiveness and loss of control that he eventually corrects. Because of this, I think Buck can lose himself and wind up being more of an abusive presence in your life than Dex could ever be- if solely for the manipulation and pent up anger and stress just slowly seeping out of him. The desire to protect you, the strain of his job, versus his frustration with you not being able to see how dangerous and demented Dex is.
Itโs funny, because youโre taking two guys who both have superiority complexes and putting them against each other. And while Dex has a more โIโm one of the good guysโ mentality, Buck has no problems playing the bad guy and admitting to it if it means keeping you sheilded. Buck will tell you he takes no enjoyment in this, but heโll say that while actively attempting to control every aspect of your life. If these men had it their way, youโd be locked up in their mutual basements. Only theirs. For the rest of forever.
Moral of the story is they are both crashing out in separate ways. Also actively trying to kill the other with separate approaches. Overall it's one lovely hot mess. I wouldn't be surprised if they both ended up hunting each other (and everyone else that gets in their way) just for sport.
