Eliot the Spectacular (highkingeliot) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-05-28 14:29:00 |
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Eliot had taken to cooking largely on the weekends. While he still did so on occasion during the week, he leaned towards letting one of the others take the reins on those days more often than not, or indulged in meals that were ordered in. As it was Sunday, and as far as he'd known upon leaving Kylo was still napping, he figured it was as good as a time to go out to the store than any. They didn't tend to keep a large amount of produce on hand in the Cottage. The usual staples were there and readily available but more often than not they'd do a quick run to get vegetables on the day they were cooking, unless they were planning something ahead in advanced. He snatched up a bundle of kale and stuffed it into a reusable bag that he was carrying around the crook of his arm. Once he had that, he was fairly certain he had everything he was looking for but he figured he'd walk around the store for just a bit longer. Turning a corner, he did not expect to see Ronan. He'd not had the chance to speak to him since everything had happened, in fact had largely been avoiding doing so, but there'd been an aggravated look given when he'd picked Fray up that day. He resisted the urge to sigh and against better judgement, didn't turn away. "Ronan," he said in way of greeting like he typically did. -- Ronan was often the one in the household who made trips to the store, though he didn’t go very often. For one thing, he was usually less busy than Adam, or maybe more accurately the things that kept him busy had more flexible hours, because he could do chores at the Barns whenever the hell he wanted, and Rapax Races basically ran itself. It was the kind of laid back lifestyle he wanted, and he knew that if Adam didn’t like him so much he probably would judge him for it, but so far it was working out fine. He was also generally more liberal with money when it came to buying stuff at the store they actually needed, although sometimes he forgot essential things. He had so far loaded his cart up with frozen pizzas and burritos, toilet paper, and bags of chips. He was headed for the produce to buy a few things that were actually healthy but weren’t (yet) being grown at the Barns, and ended up face to face with Eliot as he turned the corner. “Eliot,” he answered, raising his eyebrows. He knew -- or strongly suspected, at least -- that Eliot had been avoiding talking to him, which, frankly, was not a decision that Ronan respected. He knew Eliot was annoyed with him, because of that Look he’d given Ronan when he’d come to pick up Fray after they’d been stopped in the car, but he wasn’t voicing it, which didn’t make any sense. No one tried to avoid fighting with Ronan, not even Adam and Gansey, who tried to avoid fighting with literally everybody else. If Eliot hadn’t been avoiding talking to him, Ronan would have been happy to let him go on his way, but since he was, Ronan couldn’t resist trying to provoke him into actually saying whatever was on his mind. “Sup, dude? Long time no see.” -- An eyebrow raised but his expression didn't shift much more than that. "We both know that is bullshit," he said, though not with any intensity behind the words. It was stated more factual than anything else. He had just seen Ronan a few days prior. And the fact of the matter was that Eliot had been frustrated when he last saw Ronan. The full display of anger didn't come until the following day when he'd been taken by surprise about the state of Ronan's abilities. But that was days before and there had been other things to deal with. It had shifted down to general annoyance by this point, though the embers could easily be stoked to return the flames of anger. "You and Noah swap back, I assume?" He chose to ask instead. -- “What’s bullshit,” Ronan retorted, “Is that you’re obviously pissed at me, and you’re trying to make fucking small talk.” He was really fucking sick of this shit. He didn’t know if this was how Eliot had been before and he just hadn’t noticed, or if he had just turned into this as soon as his fairy daughter had arrived, but both Eliot and Fen were too goddamn polite. The kind of polite that covered up how they really felt, which was the very worst kind. Regular politeness was just irritating. This kind of politeness was a lie, and it was bullshit, and Ronan had no patience for it. With both hands still on the handle of his cart, he leaned threateningly towards Eliot and said venomously, “Talk to me when you’re ready to say what you’re going to say, and not one goddamn second sooner. I don’t want to hear another fucking lie out of your mouth, you understand?” -- "Yes, because launching into how I am angry with you before saying 'hello' is the way to go," he responded, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He shifted, his body leaning down to the side to set his bag down by his feet, though his gaze didn't leave Ronan. Once it was set down, he stood back straight, hands free. He didn't care get into any confrontation without access to them, even if it was beginning solely as a verbal one. Things could escalate. He, however, did not move any closer to Ronan. "I've had far more important things to be dealing with. And I was waiting to talk to you when I was ready. You think I'm going to try to do so in a fucking grocery store?" -- “Actually, yes, it is,” Ronan said. His tone and posture didn’t change, but he had actually found that response rather satisfying. Eliot had admitted to being mad. And he had also admitted to the reasons why he was being a little shit about it, which Ronan still didn’t understand, but at least Eliot was putting it on the table. Which defused some of Ronan’s anger, but he still wanted to provoke Eliot into showing his anger, so he didn’t let up just yet. “And those are my exact fucking problems with you in a nutshell. Why does it fucking matter if you say hello first? What does it actually change? What’s the big problem with being in a grocery store? Why do you have so many stupid uptight rules?” He paused, leaned back, and added, “And you know, you’ve had plenty of time to say ‘Hello, Ronan, I’m pissed at you’ anywhere you fucking wanted, but you didn’t, so this is really your own damn fault.” -- "You're going to stand there and tell me your fucking problems with me?" He interrupted, with his volume having increased just slightly. He didn't honestly care what Ronan's problems were with him. They were quite different and they had butt heads before. Of course, before, he'd just put time between them and eventually things leveled out. Ronan wasn't someone Eliot felt a necessary desire to have either in or out of his life. But Ronan was clearly aware of Eliot being angry, which he certainly had been and still was, though he'd been trying to tamper that down. But not for Ronan's sake or to avoid a confrontation. He'd been trying to do so for Fray. "Should I make it more clear? You aren't one of my fucking priorities so I'll take however Goddamn long I want." -- “Yep,” Ronan said. “That’s exactly what I’m gonna fucking do, cause I’m not an asshole.” They obviously had very different definitions of what it meant to be an asshole. Eliot probably thought making a scene in a grocery store was the very definition of it. Ronan thought his politeness and avoidance was the worst. He raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t insulted; he hadn’t thought that he’d been some kind of priority, so he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. “Fine,” he said. “Fuck off, then.” -- "Don't kid yourself, you are just as much of an asshole as I am," he sent right back. Eliot didn't have an issue with being called that. He could own it and it was probably true. But Ronan was just as much of one. "And you have the fucking audacity to come at me when you know damn well why I'm pissed off at you." -- “Not this brand of asshole,” Ronan shot back. “This is your shit, don’t pull me into it.” Eliot wasn’t fucking off, but Ronan wasn’t sure if the conversation was actually going anywhere. As long as Eliot was angry and not trying to feed him any bullshit, Ronan wasn’t going to walk away either. “Do I actually know? Cause you haven’t fucking said.” -- "You pulled yourself fucking into it," he reminded him. Of course, at that time, Eliot had been grateful. He was still injured and mourning and Fray had taken a shine to Ronan. Eliot couldn't take her around the port but Ronan had offered and Ronan made sure she was safe and she had fun. Eliot had been grateful. And it wasn't that he wasn't still grateful, in a way, that Fray had someone she trusted. He was. But gratitude wasn't enough to subside the anger that had rose inside him as he thought about what Ronan had stood by and allowed to happen. Fray didn't know better. Ronan did. "You not only stood by and let her put her life in danger but you fucking rode along with her." -- That wasn’t what Ronan had meant. What he’d meant was, almost all of his friends were more into this shit about politeness and following rules than he was, but at least most of them usually made exceptions for him. Hell, even Gansey didn’t bother trying to tiptoe around Ronan, and Gansey tiptoed carefully around absolutely fucking everyone. But he didn’t bother correcting Eliot. Because he had finally said exactly why he was angry, and it was actually kind of hilarious. “Oh, is that what you think I did?” Ronan laughed, but it was a harsh and mirthless sound. “I told her to come over if she wanted to punch a ghost. So she did, and she brought the car. Then she asked if I wanted a ride.” He shot a sideways look at Eliot. “I went along to make sure she ended up okay, and that she had fun, which were your specific instructions, remember? She was never in any life-threatening danger.” -- Eliot didn't mind her coming round to see Ronan. Fray had even remembered to tell him this time where she was going. And, as far as he and Fray were concerned, his aggravation with her was her taking the car. Fray had known it wasn't hers and she had a basic concept of what stealing was, so that had been their issue. But Ronan was another matter entirely. "She doesn't know how to fucking drive. You doing anything but discouraging her from doing so wasn't making sure she was okay." "You don't know that." Any number of things could have happened. She could have hit the wrong peddle with the wrong amount of force. She could have not noticed something to the side of the vehicle. She could have not known what to do when a car suddenly stopped in front of her. Those were all risks for someone who understood how to drive but for someone whose only experience was a go kart? Eliot was beyond grateful that Emma had pulled them over. -- “Actually, I do, because I was there. Remember?” Ronan’s patience was thin, but in some part of his mind, he understood Eliot’s anger a little better now that he understood how freaked out Eliot had been about Fray’s safety. “I mean, I wasn’t there for when she drove over, but for the rest of it. Have you actually seen her drive, or are you just using your imagination?” Ronan had, plenty of times. Mostly on go-karts, which Eliot could shit on all he wanted, but the basic premise was the same. Steering wheel, gas pedal, brake; sometimes, clutch and a stick. Most of Ronan’s karts were made like automatics, but he had made a few - mostly for himself - that were stickshifts, like his BMW. The Mustang that Fray had taken was just an automatic, it wasn’t that fucking complicated. -- His eyes narrowed. Ronan being there didn't change the view Eliot had on the subject. She might not have been in any danger in those moments when he'd been driving with her until Emma stopped them but that was luck. It could have gone entirely differently and that was where his anger stemmed from. Ronan wasn't accounting for what could have happened. "I'm aware you couldn't have stopped her before you knew. And I don't need to have seen her drive to know she doesn't know everything you are supposed to know to do it. It isn't just fucking pedals and a damned wheel and now I've got her pissed off because she thinks I'm being an ass for making her actually learn before she does it again." He just shook his head. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "I don't want you fucking encouraging her to do things she shouldn't, okay? Please?" -- Ronan considered that, and then said simply, “No.” He didn’t say it angrily or rudely, but he had a feeling it was going to piss Eliot off all the same. There was a certain amount that Eliot could ask for -- things that Ronan was willing to do, that he would do anyway, like keeping Fray safe. He was protective of his friends, he didn’t want to get them into danger. But he didn’t think Fray had been in danger while he’d been there, and if something had happened he would have protected her, and that was about as far as he could be asked to go. “She’s not fragile, or a small child. She doesn’t play by this world’s rules, but this world’s rules are fucking stupid. You should stop caring about them so much. Besides,” he said, “You’re the one who asked me to make sure she has fun. You used to care about that.” He shrugged. “It’s not completely unreasonable to want her to learn how to drive, but you really are being an ass about it.” -- Eliot should have known better than to hope that Ronan would listen to reason but the 'no' made him falter for a moment, heated eyes still locked onto Ronan. "I don't give a fuck if you think the rules are stupid," he responded. Eliot wasn't necessarily a follower of rules himself but there were some societal expectations that had to be obeyed. He was still trying to figure out how to teach Fray about them, so she could function without unexpected altercations, but a lot of them were situational. Eliot hadn't thought about the car because driving hadn't ever been something Fray'd expressed interest in to him. "There are certain things she needs to know because those rules you don't care about? They are the fucking reason she was pulled over. If Emma hadn't have been there? If it had been any other cop? She'd have gotten in trouble, unknowingly, because she didn't have a license or insurance or registration. And she'd not have expected to be in trouble because you didn't given her a fucking courtesy of explaining why it was important. Those aren't fucking stupid rules, it's necessary." He didn't react to the statement about how he wasn't fun anymore. He didn't care about that. "It isn't unreasonable and that's why we are letting her. With an actual teacher." -- “They are stupid rules,” Ronan said. “Just because they’re made into laws or whatever doesn’t mean they’re not stupid.” He merely raised his eyebrows at the emphasis on an ‘actual’ teacher. There were many things here which they fundamentally disagreed on, including whether or not Ronan would be a proper driving teacher, but he wasn’t going to argue that one. “Have you ever considered that maybe, instead of trying to fit her into some stupid little proper box tied up with all this world’s fucking rules, you could just let her be herself? This world is fucking suffocating for people who don’t fit into it.” -- "It's not your fucking place to say whether or not she should know about them," Eliot replied. He shook his head right back now. "I'm not here asking for your advice on how to handle my kid, Ronan. There's things she needs to know and purposefully not telling her is not doing her any favors, regardless of how you feel about it." -- “What I’m saying, dumbass,” Ronan said, “Is that maybe if you weren’t being such an uptight ass about rules, she’d actually come to you about wanting to learn shit like driving. And then you wouldn’t have to worry about whether she’d learn it the right way from me or anyone else.” -- This wasn't a conversation that Eliot felt he needed to be having with Ronan. When it came to rules and Fray, he actually felt he was pretty damn lax, but Fray wasn't telling him things. He couldn't tell if it was general grievances that were justified or if it was pushback from having rules all together since she'd never had any. "You aren't hearing a fucking word I've said," he muttered. It was about her needing to know about the consequences others were going to hold her to. Things that Eliot or Ronan would have no control over. For instance? Arresting her for taking something that wasn't hers, like she'd shown she had thought was fine, or giving her a ticket for driving when she shouldn't have, which she'd also shown but not been told was wrong. "There are consequences and those aren't obvious to someone who isn't from this world. They aren't my consequences. And her not being informed of what could happen is unfair to her because she doesn't know better. You aren't helping her, you are potentially making things harder for her, and if you were half the friend she thinks you are, you'd not do that. Regardless of how fucking stubborn you are." -- “I’m hearing everything you say,” Ronan said. “I just happen to disagree with almost every single word of it.” He had been trying to tell Eliot that the issue with Fray driving was only a symptom of a larger problem. Eliot was obviously too caught up in it and couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Ronan was pretty sure this was an issue that was not going to be reconciled easily, not without some kind of a concession from one of them, and he really didn’t feel like conceding. It wasn’t about stubbornness. It was a matter of principle. “I didn’t realize there was so much fucking fine print on you asking me to keep her safe. While I’m around, she will have fun and she will be physically and emotionally unharmed. That’s the only thing I agreed to, you can go ahead and throw the rest of whatever agreement you thought we made out the window. Write her a fucking handbook or something. Good luck with getting her to follow it.” -- "You can disagree all you fucking like. It isn't your fucking call," he said. "And you didn't fucking keep her safe. You're fucking lucky nothing did happen to her," he added as he leaned to the side to pick up his bag. They'd made their way back to the initial issue once again. Where Eliot had rather they discuss this once he was ready, since he was trying to avoid this as it'd done jack shit in the way of helping either of them, he'd have potentially calmed down if Ronan had only apologized. It wasn't Ronan's kid and it wasn't Ronan's place to decide these things. With his bag now in hand, "We're done talking about her." Not even feeling like saying 'goodbye' at this point, he moved away from Ronan, heading down an aisle to leave. |