“well, it’s that time of year again,” mat says with an admittedly pretty obvious note of pride in his voice. “october 25th — in other words, alina’s birthday! so if you’re not following her on @lawrising — where she writes me, by the way — @deathwis, @angelgraved, and @faultd, i mean, now would be a pretty good time to start.”
mat takes a second to adjust his posture, moving from leaning primarily on the right foot to the left, all while keeping one hand firmly on his hip, as if he’s giving a lecture in front of a college board instead of singing a friend’s praises on their birthday. but to him, this has exactly the same level of importance. everyone deserves to feel happy on their birthday, whether they’re someone mat doesn’t know well or someone he can’t possibly live without. and alina’s someone that definitely falls into the latter camp, which is all the more reason to make this special.
“i gotta admit, i was pretty surprised to find out i had such a huge following.” the detective’s voice is a little softer, a little more cut open and raw than his previous bravado. “and, ah, no offence to anyone else who writes me, but — it takes a real kinda dedication and talent to write the way alina does. she’s probably watched my season eight times or something crazy like that — but she always comes away with something different, a new thing to talk about! seriously, i don’t think anyone’s ever paid that much attention to me in my life. and — and, well, alina knows this better than anyone, but...” for someone who feels so expendable, having a person look at you for that long makes you feel like you’re going to literally explode. mat tapers off, one hand dragging down his lips as his intense eyes search for a way to say what he means to without sounding, uh, too pathetic. “ — it means a lot, let’s just leave it at that. she does me justice, without glossing over all the things that maybe, maybe don’t make me feel too great, but are important anyway. she’s dedicated! not to mention a great writer, like — 'all these finer details, however, are the problem. personalization actually clings to the bed, despite the bareness of everything else.' and then here — 'the searing emotion licking his heart'. 'the detective connects it to something akin to mourning. yearning?' you can't make this up, this — this is incredible. she could be a poet. no, i’m serious! there’s — this is poetry!”
mat chokes on his own laughter, self-conscious from being so honest for so long. he licks his lips, takes a deliberate step backwards from where he’d started pacing. “i dunno what she sees in a character like me, but — i’m glad. i’m glad she’s here. and all the other characters she writes on her other blogs, they’re lucky too, to have such a great writer — a poet — and such a good friend behind their characterization. she’s got it on lock. she’s great. hope you have a great day, alina. we love ya.”
