#heeheeheehee

(Slight Pressure spoilers!)

John Price, Captain John Price, is a big guy, he’s hairy, he smells like tobacco, he’s the captain of a military task force, he’s a grump. He’s all of those, and he’s also your honeybun. That’s the sickly sweet nickname you’ve given him, and he loves every part of it.

He laughed the first time you called him that, but only a little.

“Why are you laughing?” You’re fully in your right to ask.

“That’s a silly name, my love.”

And it is, it very much is. It’s silly and borderline ridiculous, and yet he lights up when you call him that. It’s an antonym to his call sign.

Immediate unease and intrigue. Someone is making an active decision to break the social mold, and that is admirable. Artistic, creative, new, different... and anything Lawrence deems 'different' is in danger. He's so sick of the same-old-same-old, he LOVES a dash of flavor. He may bother her for a brief hello and conversation about her outfit, but it'll be nothing normal. Where did the accessories come from? Did you make any yourself? Did you find them? There's too many chains. There's too much and not enough color. I have some ideas. We should talk more about that. We should talk. Lawrence carries with him such an extreme sense of superiority when it comes to anything artistic that it's hard to bite his tongue about other peoples art or styles, and you'll CERTAINLY be hearing about it. Judged, complimented, observed. Like an animal in an exhibit or a doll in a box; objectified. It's a near automatic urge to control the situation and her creative decisions because she isn't built exactly to his liking- or, as Lawrence puts it, she's not 'using her full potential.'

warning: description of drowning

Siren reader finding this melancholy Scotsman perched on a rock on a cloudy beach. He’s got this sad, bitter look in his eyes and a star shaped scar on the side of his head as he gazes longingly, pitifully at the waves, and god, you can’t really help yourself when he’s got such wet sad eyes like a seal pup. You’ve seen him before round these parts, have watched for him over the years. Seen him splashing with family, seen him running laps up and down the beach, seen him partying with some other men, laugh loud and boisterous. In all this time, you’ve never ever seen him so miserable, so you really can’t be faulted for your actions. You’ve held back for so long, only ever getting glimpses of him, and now it is like fate has presented him to you on a silver platter.

Liar. Inferno could see on Mind’s face that he was anxious.

“# Are you sure? Because you’ve got that look. #”

Damn it. Mind sometimes hated that Charlie could read him so well. It made fudging the truth so much harder. “[ Please, it’s nothing for you to worry about, probably just a bug. You probably shouldn’t even be near me right now. ]”

Ah. So Mind was trying to self isolate. Like Devin would let that happen.

“# C’mon, a little bug never killed no one. If it’s nothing for me to worry about, it’s nothing for you to worry about either. #”

“[ Charlie. ]”

“# Come on, let’s get you to the couch. It’s lazy day. #”

Mind frowned. His goal had been to get Inferno to leave him alone, not to get Inferno to baby him. But Charlie’s hands were in his and leading him towards a day of comfort and relaxation before he had time to protest.

Two blankets were carefully laid on top of Mind, the table pushed close to the couch with water bottles and snacks in easy reach. The TV remote was placed in his hand as Devin ran to their room to get another blanket.

Mind sighed. He didn’t feel good about fibbing to his boyfriend, and he almost felt like he didn’t deserve the princess treatment he was getting. But he’d be a fool to decline it.

“# We’re gonna start you on water, but later I’ll make you some tea, #” Inferno said as he sat by Mind’s feet.

“[ Alright. ]”

Mind put on a crime show and settled down. He really did have a stomach ache, and he didn’t exactly doubt that he’d caught a bug from one of his students, but that wasn’t the whole truth. He’d been anxious and stressed about the upcoming holidays. It had been a while since he’d seen Heart or Soul, and even though they still spoke on the phone sometimes, he couldn’t help but be anxious.

“# Apollo. #”

“[ Mm? ]”

“# I, uh… I hope you know I’ll do whatever I can to help you feel better. Get you medicine, sing to you, stick by your side, massage your feet. #”

“[ …Massage my feet? ]”

“# You’re always walkin’ around outside without your shoes on. You stand all day. I think you need it. #”

“[ Probably. ]”

Mind turned his attention to the TV. He’d seen this episode before, he was sure. He knew what was going to happen. He got to thinking about inviting Inferno to Christmas at Soul’s place. It’d be weirder not to invite him, Mind thought, since they’d been together for a while, and they’d recently moved in together, and they all—

“[ Hey?! ]” Mind pulled his legs close and covered the bottoms of his feet.

“# What? I warned you. #”

“[ Not really? And I wasn’t expecting it. ]”

“# Do you not want it? #”

Mind bit his lip. What a stupid thing to be conflicted about. “[ I mean, like, I do, but… ]”

“# If you’re about to give me some bullshit about not needing it, then I don’t wanna hear it. #”

Mind sighed and stretched his legs out again. Devin’s hands were nice and warm against Mind’s ice cold feet.

“# You know, babe, I really think we need to get you to a spa one of these days. #”

“[ Let strangers put their hands all over me? Yeah right. ]”

“# Not necessarily. We could… what are those rooms full of steam called? #”

“[ You surely don’t mean a steam room. ]”

“# Quit bein’ a smartass. No. The other thing, a, a— #”

“[ Sauna? ]”

“# Yeah. Get you in one of those things. #”

“[ Could make one right here if we left the shower on long enough. ]”

“# You love to fight me. #”

“[ I love saving money. ]”

Charlie mumbled something and pressed his thumbs into the center of the bottom of Mind’s foot. “# You worry so much. We oughta get you on a plane to the Carolinas or something. #”

“[ I hate the beach. ]”

“# You love anywhere there’s warmth. We don’t gotta go to the beach. We could just find a fancy hotel and spend a couple days in bed. #”

“[ I’d rather go to the beach. ]”

Inferno gave Mind a really? look that made him smile.

“[ Sorry. ]”

“# No you ain’t. #”

Charlie switched to Mind’s other foot. “[ When you’re done, love, will you please make us some hot chocolate? ]”

“# Not ‘til that water bottle’s empty. #”

Mind rolled his eyes. If nothing else, Inferno was good at making sure his boyfriend took care of himself.

“# Why don’t you put on a Christmas movie or something? This crime stuff freaks me out. #”

“[ Ah, yes, a Christmas movie, which will go perfectly with this water. ]”

Devin swatted Mind’s shin and they both giggled. “# Alright, I’ll make you a deal, darlin’. #”

“[ How generous. ]”

“# Drink half that water, I’ll make us some hot chocolate, but no marshmallows. #”

“[ Hm. Fine. ]” Mind took the bottle and chugged about three fourths of it at once.

“# …your stomach won’t like that. #”

“[ Good thing I don’t care what it thinks. ]”

“# Wasn’t a stomach ache the thing that made you try isolating today? #”

Mind kicked Devin and pulled his feet away. “[ Hush. ]”

Charlie sighed and stood up. He gave Mind’s head a pat and forehead a kiss before walking toward the kitchen. “# You’re lucky I love you. #”

“[ Yeah, yeah, I love you too. ]”

Leo:

Donnie: WH