Re: carriage house: matt/atticus
[Matt took Atticus at his word, wiggled metal fingers at that firm 'no' despite metal arm, and let the subject rest. Whatever had happened to Janus was well outside his purview. He fought overpowered and dangerous beings on a regular basis, but a demon inhabited by a nightmare? His skill set wasn't the right fit for this one.] When am I not. [Without bitterness, but he was accustomed to that, being the liability on a mission, the element that might not behave as he, or anyone else, might want. Part of being effective in the larger fight was knowing where your skills lay and where your weaknesses held you back, when insurmountable.
He looked down at Atticus’ curls on his arm, and he gave them a quick swipe with his right hand - the better to see him with from this angle. Agreeing.] Probably didn’t want you anywhere near it. [Not a bad thing, necessarily, and stated without judgement. It pointed strongly to Janus actually caring about Atticus. The outcome wasn’t good, but the intentions were.
He took the beer from Atticus and took a generous swig, for what little good it would do him.] Thanks. [All this talk of Janus and the thing inside him made him had turned him pensive. He let his hand drape onto Atticus’ shoulder, fingertips just brushing his shirt, careful not to touch the side of his neck with a press of cold metal.
When Atticus started talking about PJ, however, Matt’s gaze fixed on him. His expression was almost completely immobile while he worked his way through it all. The only flicker of a reaction was his brow drawing down when Atticus said she’d told him before.] She didn’t say. [With the mystification of real ignorance. He sat up a little again.] She never told me that. I wasn’t even sure that was what she meant when she said it this time. Didn’t make any sense to me. [His brow furrowed.] Friendship rule? I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure until you just told me. [He shook his head.] Mentioned those to me too. Tried to tell her there aren’t any. Think she’s confusing two things here - I can be her friend and want to take you out and not have there be a treehouse she’s in and a treehouse you’re in. [He sighed.] If that’s what she means, and frankly, I’ve got no fucking clue what’s going on anymore. She says she told me before, I don’t remember that, but I got a brain like goddamn swiss cheese in a ham sandwich, and maybe I forgot about it. I maybe was too dense to take it in more than an inch. [He leaned back again, and he left his arm right where it was, whether Atticus stayed away or not.] You’re right, I fucked up. I’ll say I’m sorry. I should've taken her at her word when she said that thing about the lipstick. [He tapped his hand against the couch.] I’m pretty good at reading people, you know. Wouldn’t think it, but I am. You wanna know if a guy’s going right or left when he takes off at a run, I get the shot just about every time. You want to know if a woman’s in love with somebody else, I can tell you. But if I have to guess if somebody’s interested in me, and they’re not right out with it, they’re not interested, far as I can tell.