you like playing with fire?

(✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): the rider is there to support you. he’s got this :) (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you’re right, you’re more of the tin man type of guy (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): the hell thing was SO long ago, asshole (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): and that was your choice. i was naked in your bed and you were scrolling through reddit. or whatever car guys scroll through

[…] (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you’d freak out in a silent house. i’ve ruined it for you. you’d think the world is ending (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): i expected you to VISIT ME not tunnel through hell while using your soul as a shovel and hoping nothing came after it (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): shut up (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): i said SHUT UP

(✉️ ➡️ shake it up): his version of support is ‘damn that sucks, let’s go kill someone’ is that really what you want here (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): you saying i’ve got no heart? (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): oh, i’m /sorry./ excuse /me/ for still being traumatized about going to literal hell. several times! back to back! i get to milk this forever, daisy. that’s the rule. (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): i’m not on reddit. and i have interests outside of my car, you know!

“Starving,” Daisy admitted before making grabbing hands at the food and attacking the bags he had brought in. Every time he brought home some food, she found herself grateful all over again that he didn’t stand there and shame her for not being able to do basic things - like cooking. He was good in a lot of ways that he didn’t take credit for. (Or maybe May had been right and she had been accepting below the bare minimum for so long that now she was given so much more it felt amazing.

“I mean it though, you’re gonna brush it off because that’s what you do, Reyes.” It echoed another time that was years behind them. She reached out and brushed some of his hair from his face, dragging her thumb gently across his eyebrow. “It means a lot.”

/

“You’d better chew that,” Robbie warned, hiding an amused grin behind another bag of takeout. “My Heimlich Maneuver's gone to shit since the Devil made me immortal.” It was painfully domestic, but in a way he’d grown used to since their conversation about what it was they were building here. And it was a good thing. Gabe mentioned, the last time they spoke, that Robbie seemed happier now. Lighter, almost. It was a hard thing for his brother to admit, given his own personal misgivings about Daisy, but he smiled when he said it and Robbie figured that was a step in the right direction. Maybe someday, the two of them would be able to sit in the same room without passive aggressive barbs aimed at one another’s throats. Maybe pigs would learn to fly, too.

Robbie looked away as she spoke, smile soft in a way that was reserved exclusively for her and Gabe. “Yeah, yeah,” he replied, following through on her prediction by brushing the comment off. He reached up and took her hand, bringing it from his brow down to his lips and pressing it against them gently. “You know I’m glad you’re here, too, right?”

(✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): no you lose. you’ve lost. you’re a loser (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): if being sexy isn’t the point then???  (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): YOU MAKE A LIST, REYES. A LIST. IT’S WHAT NORMAL PEOPLE DO. (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): oh my god you’re so dramatic. that has never happened.  (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): [unsent] except that last time when  (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): never. ever.

[…] (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you’d be bored with peace and quiet (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): IT WASN’T A CHOICE (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): christ yourself (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): yes (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): unburnt please 

(✉️ ➡️ shake it up): really? you’re going to call me a loser while i’m recounting my /traumatic/ time in hell? not very supportive of you. (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): don’t objectify me. i have a brain. (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): oh, i’m sorry, i’m out of practice on making grocery lists. on account of the hell thing.  (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): really? because i seem to remember that happening /very/ clearly. my back sure as shit remembers sleeping on that damn couch.

[ yell ] for your muse to calm mine down @vengeancedemons​

Kori was used to strong emotions. She felt them every day, had never really understood why humans were so intent on hiding just how they felt. It still confused her to this day and she had been on Earth since she was a teenager. She doubted that she’d every really understand it. Robbie seemed to be someone who also had strong emotions, especially anger. A lot of anger. She absently wondered if he knew Jason. If they got along with how much the two men held so much anger inside and didn’t try to suppress it, it seemed. 

“Robbie, it’s alright! Everything will be okay?” It was more a question than anything, Kori entirely unsure if she could calm the angry man down in the moment. “Yes, yes it will be okay! Not a question, it will be. Do we need to go punch things? I have done that plenty of the times to expel my own frustrations! Or blow things up. I have been told by Nightwing I should be doing that one less though. So we must blow things up not in Gotham or Bludhaven. Would you like to blow things up? Where no one will get harmed, of course, but I would have to fly us and would have to carry you. I do not know if that would be beneficial in our situation, so perhaps just punching things, yes?” Kori settled on finally with a bright grin, clapping her hands together expectantly as she waited for an answer.  

/

Anger was something Robbie had been carrying with him for so long now, he didn’t know how to live without the weight of it. It predated the Rider, though having a vengeful spirit occupying a small corner of his mind certainly didn’t help with his anger issues. It was older than Gabe, he thought, something that had been a part of Robbie for as long as he’d been Robbie. It burned hot and bright and when something added fuel to that fire, it was very difficult to douse the flames. And right now? They were being fueled pretty intently. 

It was just some asshole running his mouth at the bar, going on and on about who ought and oughtn’t be ‘allowed’ in the place. He had a thing or two to say about aliens, another thing or two to say about chicanos. It was clear that Robbie was fuming, and the guy seemed to be pleased with himself because of it, speaking louder with his eyes on Robbie and Kori, making it clear exactly who, in particular, he was referring to. Robbie stood up, ready to kill the guy right then and there, but Kori’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “I got something right here I can punch and blow up,” he said lowly, eyes burning as he glared at the man. “Don’t need to go anywhere else for it. Let me --- Just let me kill him. Then everything’ll be okay.”

(✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): stop bringing that up like it’s your ace in the hole, it’s annoying (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you were matching my energy, personally i find that very sexy (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): OR YOU COULD LOOK IN THE FRIDGE BEFORE LEAVING? (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): so you know i want chips but you won’t buy them because why? gotta compete for toolbag of the year :( you’d think your GIRLFRIEND was more important

[…] (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you won’t if i delete it (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): [unsent] i know you’re trying to be (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): [unsent] please don’t get stuck again (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): you can’t annoy me in person if you’re trapped in another hell dimension so maybe no repeats? (✉️ ➡️ highway to hell ): a home cooked meal.

(✉️ ➡️ shake it up): it is my ace in the hole. hell is a tough thing to beat, so. i win. (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): my being sexy is beside the point here. (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): and what? see what’s NOT in there? how the hell do i know what’s not in there because we’re out of it and what’s not in there because we don’t use it? (✉️ ➡️ shake it up): i was making an ASSUMPTION. if you want chips, you gotta TELL me. otherwise, i bring chips home and it’s “what made you think i would want these?” and then i somehow end up on the damn couch

i know i’m not who you expected to see this morning. || @vengeancedemons

There was a time when, upon hearing an unexpected voice in the morning as he poured some kale smoothie, Tony Stark would’ve blasted a neat hole through his guest before he even got to open his eyes. (He’d been jumpy. Sue him.) Since moving to Shadowcrest on a full-time basis, that had to change. Hassan wasn’t going to forgive him for another singed bandage, and it was pretty much expected that a kid would jump up on him now and again. Zatanna’s wards protected the house, his own security systems didn’t register any threats, so he had to tell himself he was safe, the world wasn’t falling down around him, everything was good.

It was a lot easier to convince himself than he thought it would be, and when a somewhat familiar voice broke in, Tony didn’t even threaten him with bodily violence once. He turned to him, eyes still heavy with sleep, and reached for the top pocket of his dressing gown to slip on his glasses (he truly was turning into Jarvis). “Zee took a donut craving,” he explained. “Very intense. She’s been gone for an hour. Apparently Walmart didn’t hit the spot, so I think she’s hopping over to Paris.” He raised an eyebrow. “You are here for Zee, right? For your book club?”

/

The damn house let him in. Robbie was still trying to get used to that, still trying to remember not to portal his way inside from the alley because Zatanna’s magic house took that shit personally and the last time he’d tried it, he’d wound up in a forest some place in Montana with a headache and dead cell battery. So when he needed something, he went in through the fucking door, which opened for him and allowed him inside of its own volition because apparently it had decided he wasn’t a threat. Somehow, that pissed Robbie off more than any of it. 

So did the fact that Tony Stark didn’t even look surprised to see him in the house in the wee hours of the morning, despite the fact that the guy definitely hadn’t been up long. Robbie crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes. “Typical,” he muttered. They were supposed to meet to talk about some of the missing Darkhold pages this morning, a task that was pretty damn important considering the fate of the fucking world was pretty ‘in the balance’ with all of it. And instead, Robbie was stuck here with Stark while Zee was in Paris having doughnuts. Robbie wondered how pissed the house would be if he portaled out of it. “Wouldn’t call it a book club. You got your robots living here now?” He glanced around, a look of mild curiosity on his face.

The words were an echo of a conversation a million years ago, when Robbie was fresh out of Hell and already knowing he’d have to go back sooner rather than later. You’re here now, and that’s good. It made him feel just as warm now as it had then, because people rarely felt that way. 

Smiling faintly, he rolled his eyes and stacked the bags in his hands on the counter. “You’re just saying that because I brought takeout,” he said dryly, leaning in to give her a peck on the cheek. “It’s Thai. I figured you’d be hungry.”

— trista mateer

//

The thought of being believed in made Loki give a scoff. If only mortals would believe in him. “If only mortals would return the same courtesy.” Even turning into a cat did not seem to impress. But then, since he had encountered this man before, he should have known better. Despite the sarcasm, he had a feeling the mortal was relentless, if only in the case of continuing to be ignorant. All of them seemed to be relentless in that area. “Clearly. I was concerned there for a moment, but how fortunate that you have persevered.”

Smarter. That was a matter for debate. Yes they had made advances in technology, but that only made them more cocky, and less likely to believe what was right in front of their face. Seeing something was not good enough. Now they wanted an explanation. “Sadly, there are too many powered individuals, yes. But being powered and having power are two quite different things.” Just because someone like Stark could fly around in a tin can did not make him a god. The thought of this mortal or any other punching him was rather amusing. The man could certainly try, but it would not end well for him. “Oh, well I’m so pleased to have made myself stand out in some small way,” Loki drawled, “Though I cannot speak for your chances if you do actually attempt to punch me.”

/

Hell was full of guys like this. Egos the size of a planet, so sure that whatever power they had entitled them to whatever they wanted. They demanded respect, whether it was deserved or not, and felt cheated when it wasn’t handed to them on a silver platter. Robbie didn’t have much patience for them, and this man was no exception. “Maybe you’re just not as impressive as you think you are, hombre.” He shrugged, tone still dry, still unbothered.

People weren’t what they used to be. It was something the Rider often noted in his head, too. People used to worship him, too, a millennia or two ago. The Rider was fairly indifferent to it, didn’t care to be worshipped any more than he cared about anything that wasn’t blood and death and vengeance, but he commented on it from time to time all the same. People viewed what they didn’t understand in a different light these days. It was no longer blind fear or unparalleled devotion. Often, it was just curiosity. “Seems to me if you fell into the category of people who ‘have power,’ you wouldn’t be spending your free time trying to trick people into thinking you’re a cat or bitching when they don’t worship you by default.” He studied the man for a moment, quirking a brow. “I gotta ask, how far has underestimating people gotten you so far?”

(✉️ ➡️ asshole ): wait so how do you know it’s him and not you? (✉️ ➡️ asshole ): you know, like how people describe toxic thoughts? how do you know it’s not that? (✉️ ➡️ asshole ): or does he sign every word in your brain “- so says the rider”

(✉️ ➡️ fire head 🔥): Is it a justified fire setting, at least? Does the barista moonlight as a supervillain? (✉️ ➡️ fire head 🔥): Depends on the security. I used to play shield for a long time, and that can include a certain level of desperation too. (✉️ ➡️ fire head 🔥): Leather jackets. Cool car. Giant flaming skull head. A brand! (✉️ ➡️ fire head 🔥): That must be really lonely. (✉️ ➡️ fire head 🔥): Not buying it, sorry.

“I didn’t say it like that!” Daisy tried to defend at first, but then she slipped back into a smile, crossing her arms as she put a hand over her mouth, trying to hide the absolute joy in her face at watching this all go down. “But I did tell you so.” If she was going to get in trouble for saying it — she might as well really say it, right? Shifting, she looked up at him, wondering if she should complement the view or not. Chances were, no matter what she said, he’d get even more pissed. So, she was happy to let him hover in the air for a while longer, laughing as he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to get down.

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to tap my foot and ask if you’ve learned your lesson? Maybe don’t touch magically imbued items because you think you’ve got a handle on it?” Daisy grinned, trying to hold in another laugh. “Get it? Handle?”

She hadn’t considered that he might actually feel everything on the way down., She had always assumed that the Rider had taken the brunt of anything, that whatever Robbie felt was just an echo of the reality. “Okay but you’re not taking into consideration that I could totally dampen your fall. If I can make myself fly across the city, then I can definably slow your fall.” She thought about it for a moment before shrugging and adding quietly: “In theory, at least.”

He was arguing with himself up there. The Rider must have said something to set him off because he looked just as annoyed as ever. Reminded her of the way he looked at her when she first showed up at his place of work in LA. That quiet anger that was on the edge of exploding. The Rider must have agreed with her.

“Don’t be a baby, Reyes.” Because taunting him was clearly the solution. “And I’m sure I could. But that requires more… finesse.” And Daisy was more of a baseball bat than she was a scalpel. “Jumping is your best bet. And I’ll slow the fall with a cloud of controlled vibrations.” She was bullshitting him, but there was a chance she could — and if she couldn’t? He’d heal.

“Could have fooled me!” Robbie glared down at her, though the motion was likely lost due to the physical distance between them. Still, the look intensified when she claimed that she did, in fact, tell him so. “When I get down from here, you are so sleeping on the couch. For a week. Maybe two.” His grip tightened on the broom, and the wooden handle creaked for a moment before he remembered himself and loosened it enough to ensure that the damn broom wouldn’t snap in half. 

Robbie grit his teeth, muttering obscenities under his breath in both English and Spanish. In the back of his mind, the Rider seemed irritated. Whatever the psychic equivalent of rolling one’s eyes was, that was the Devil’s current state. Robbie glared at a spot in the sky in response. “Are you seriously making jokes? I could die up here.” It was a dramatic claim, and utterly untrue to the point that the Rider laughed in his mind. 

You know I won’t let you die, Reyes. Not until we’re finished. 

Yeah, Robbie wanted to reply, and when will that be? But he didn’t think he’d like the answer, and he knew better than to ask questions he didn’t want the answer to. He’d learned his lesson there.

Looking back down at Daisy, he narrowed his eyes. “Can you actually do that,” he asked, “or are you just saying that so I’ll let go?” She answered the question a moment later with the in theory comment, and Robbie huffed. “Not loving the confidence there, Johnson.”

And then the taunting started. Because of course it did. Of course his girlfriend was the type of person who’d goad him into breaking his damn legs and spending the rest of the night letting the damn Devil knit his bones back together in the living room floor. “Jumping is not my best bet. Jumping is a shitty idea. If I jump, you’re gonna have to drag me back to the damn apartment.”

I could make you let go, the Rider offered, and Robbie felt hellfire burning in his eyes.