a completely avoidable romance β martin edwards
in which two dumb idiots share one brain cell
a martin crackfic.
martin had the kind of face museums trusted instinctively.
this was unfortunate, because he was standing in the italian renaissance wing whispering, with priestly seriousness, that one of the cherubs βabsolutely had access to cryptocurrency before the crash.β
βlook at him,β you murmured back, staring up at the painting. βthat baby has liquidated assets.β
the cherub in question possessed the damp, doomed expression of a tiny duke moments before bankruptcy. somewhere behind you, a docent shifted uneasily. martin noticed immediately. naturally, instead of stopping, he doubled down with the terrifying calm of a man reversing a car directly toward a lake.
βno, genuinely,β he continued, hands folded behind his back like a lecturer at oxford, βobserve the posture. that is not innocence. that is a child who says things like βmy fatherβs shipping empire will recover.ββ
you nodded. βthereβs cocaine in that babyβs summer home.β
the docent approached with the brittle smile of someone attempting diplomacy with raccoons. she informed you both, politely, that visitors were asked not to βdisrespect the artwork.β
martin looked sincerely wounded. βiβm engaging with it emotionally.β
βyou called a cherub a tax evader.β
βallegedly,β he corrected.
you might have escaped intact if you had not, at precisely that moment, stepped toward another painting and whispered, much too audibly, βoh my god, this one looks like he names boats after ex-wives.β
the museum removed you twenty minutes later with admirable professionalism. no raised voices. no scene. just two security guards escorting you through the lobby while martin attempted to argue that renaissance patronage was inherently comedic.
outside, the rain had started in that thin london drizzle that feels less like weather and more like passive aggression from the sky. martin stood under the awning, hands in his coat pockets, visibly trying not to laugh.
you stared at him. βthis is your fault.β
βinteresting interpretation,β he said. βcounterpoint: you accused the madonna of insider trading.β
βbecause she knew something.β
that did it. he bent forward suddenly, laughter escaping him in one sharp burst before he pressed a hand against his mouth as though physically restraining the rest of it. martin laughed with his entire skeleton. not elegantly. not attractively, exactly. it arrived in violent installments, shoulders hitching, head dropping, the composure leaving his body like tenants evacuating a condemned building.
then he straightened, immediately regaining dignity with almost offensive efficiency.
βwell,β he said smoothly, βat least we were banned together.β
βromantic.β
βvery. next anniversary we can get escorted out of the british library.β
the problem with martin was that he treated bad ideas the way victorian naturalists treated exotic birds: with intense curiosity and absolutely no instinct for self-preservation.
three nights later, this became relevant in the kitchen.
βi think,β martin announced, staring at the cookbook as though it had personally insulted him, βthat the author is lying.β
you were seated on the counter eating shredded cheese directly from the bag. βabout what?β
βtiming. there is no universe where onions become translucent in four minutes. that is propaganda.β
the kitchen already looked distressed. flour dusted the counters in pale handprints resembling forensic evidence. something wet and orange had achieved legal ownership of the floor near the sink. the air smelled faintly of garlic and impending litigation.
you slid off the counter. βokay, move. youβre stirring wrong.β
βthereβs no wrong way to stir.β
βthere absolutely is. youβre agitating them emotionally.β
martin scoffed. βtheyβre onions.β
βexactly. fragile people.β
the argument escalated with astonishing speed.
within six minutes, you were both speaking over each other with the fervor of rival attorneys arguing a murder case before the supreme court.
βyou cannot sautΓ© on vibes aloneββ
βwatch me.β
βthat pan is too hot.β
βheat builds character.β
βthat is something abusive fathers say.β
martin pointed the wooden spoon at you. βyou added paprika without consulting me.β
βi didnβt realize the united nations oversaw soup.β
βthis isnβt soup.β
βnot with that attitude.β
then the oil caught fire.
not dramatically at first. just a sudden bloom of orange in the pan, almost elegant. for one strange second, both of you stared at it with detached academic interest.
martin broke the silence first.
βthat feels significant.β
the smoke alarm detonated overhead with the spiritual intensity of a baptist preacher witnessing sin firsthand. the apartment erupted into chaos. you grabbed a dish towel and immediately made everything worse. martin seized the pan with alarming confidence for a man who had once injured himself opening aspirin.
βdonβt move it!β
βiβm not moving it,β he shouted, actively moving it.
somewhere amid the smoke, the front door burst open.
james stood there holding an iced coffee and the expression of a man arriving at pompeii.
he took in the scene slowly: the burning pan. your coughing. martin swearing with aristocratic precision while attempting to smother flames using what appeared to be a linen napkin.
james blinked once.
βi genuinely donβt think you two should be allowed near civilization.β
βweβre handling it,β martin said.
behind him, something crackled ominously.
βthat sentence has never once been true.β
seonghyeon appeared next, peering around the doorway. he looked eerily calm, which somehow made the situation feel worse. βwhy,β he asked mildly, βdoes it smell like a shipwreck?β
βsmall complication,β you wheezed.
juhoon leaned into the apartment, saw martin holding the pan at armβs length like cursed treasure, and immediately started laughing so hard he had to crouch against the wall.
keonho arrived last, took one look at the smoke gathering near the ceiling, and quietly said, βiβm calling emergency services preemptively.β
βdonβt be dramatic,β martin snapped.
the pan emitted a noise usually associated with medieval warfare.
keonho already had his phone out.
somehow β through means neither legal nor scientific β dinner still happened.
not the original dinner, obviously. that had become carbon. but eventually there was takeout spread across the coffee table, six people eating cross-legged while the apartment smelled faintly of smoke and irreversible mistakes.
martin, freshly showered, looked offensively composed again. dark sweater. damp hair. the kind of face luxury watches get marketed beside. meanwhile, there was still flour inexplicably on his ear.
you pointed at it. βyou missed some.β
he narrowed his eyes. βwhere.β
βleft side.β
he rubbed the wrong side immediately.
juhoon made a strangled noise into his drink.
james stared at the ceiling for a long moment before speaking. βi need all of you to understand something. from an outside perspective, this relationship looks less like dating and more like two highly intelligent raccoons learning how door handles work.β
βthatβs unfair,β martin said.
βyou tried to extinguish a grease fire by blowing on it.β
martin paused. βin hindsightββ
βno,β said seonghyeon. βdonβt even finish that sentence.β
you leaned against martinβs shoulder without thinking. he adjusted automatically to make room for you, still arguing with james about whether fire technically counted as βan ingredient.β it happened so naturally neither of you seemed to notice.
everyone else did.
keonho looked between the two of you with the exhausted resignation of a man watching mutual destruction occur in slow motion. βyou know what the worst part is?β
βwhat?β
βyou genuinely make each other more powerful.β
martin considered this. βthat feels true.β
βit shouldnβt.β
there was also the courtroom incident.
not a real courtroom. worse.
ikea.
it began over a lamp.
the lamp itself was hideous β enormous, asymmetrical, shaped vaguely like an object found in the ocean after a curse. martin loved it instantly.
βabsolutely not,β you said.
βyou lack vision.β
βyou lack neurological caution.β
martin lifted the lamp carefully. βthis is art.β
βthis is what happens when designers start resenting the public.β
within minutes, the disagreement had evolved into a full legal proceeding conducted in hushed but venomous tones somewhere between the shelving units.
martin argued for the defense. you represented society at large.
he gestured toward the lamp with chilling sincerity. βmay i remind the court that innovation has historically been mocked.β
βyes, and history also gave us the titanic.β
βirrelevant.β
βhighly relevant. both structurally confusing.β
a nearby employee slowed down visibly to listen.
martin noticed. naturally, this encouraged him.
βyour honor,β he said to the horrified employee, βthe prosecution fears beauty.β
the employee, nineteen years old and making minimum wage, looked ready to fake a medical emergency.
you pointed accusingly at martin. βthis man would absolutely buy a chair that cannot legally support a human spine.β
βbecause i believe in risk.β
βyou microwave forks.β
βonce.β
βtwice.β
he drew himself up with grave dignity. βthose were exploratory incidents.β
by the time james found you, a small crowd had formed.
he stood motionless for several seconds watching martin cross-examine you about βaesthetic cowardiceβ beside decorative storage containers.
finally he turned to seonghyeon and asked, very quietly, βdo you think if we leave now theyβll notice?β
seonghyeon watched martin attempt to use a measuring tape like courtroom evidence. βnot immediately.β
the thing was, martin could become frighteningly serious when it mattered.
that was almost worse.
once, at a party crowded with expensive people performing wealth at each other, somebody made a dismissive comment toward you. casual cruelty. the socialite version. delicate as a knife slipped between ribs.
martinβs entire demeanor changed.
not loudly. that would have been easier.
he just went still in a way that altered the temperature nearby. one moment relaxed and amused, the next carrying the calm menace of a man who knew exactly where all the exits were.
the conversation around you faltered.
martin smiled pleasantly at the offender. βwhat a strange thing to say out loud.β
the room quieted by instinct.
he did not raise his voice. he did not need to. his politeness sharpened into something almost surgical.
βi think,β he continued gently, βif youβre going to embarrass yourself publicly, you should at least have the decency to commit properly.β
afterward, outside in the cold night air, you stared at him.
βthat was hot.β
martin looked offended. βi was defending your honor.β
βyeah. hot.β
he scoffed, opening the car door for you with unnecessary aggression. βyou looked confused trying to find the bathroom fifteen minutes earlier.β
βi was drunk.β
βyou opened a broom closet with confidence.β
βthere were vibes.β
βthere were mops.β
you climbed into the car laughing so hard your ribs hurt. martin got in beside you still muttering insults under his breath, though his hand found your knee automatically in the dark like it belonged there.
which, increasingly, it did.
not with dramatic realization. not with cinematic declarations. it happened quietly, through accumulated absurdities. shared glances across disastrous situations. the unconscious teamwork of two people uniquely equipped to make each other worse in the most enjoyable possible way.
like learning a language accidentally and discovering someone else already speaks it fluently.
the truly dangerous thing about martin was not that he was charming.
it was that being around him made every terrible idea feel briefly ordained by god.
taglist β @sese-blurbs













