Just Ignore It

Chapter 7


Tobias was the one that awoke first, blinking slowly and looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He started to move to sit up but stopped when the weight on his chest shifted slightly. Looking down he saw the light brown mop of hair that was the top of Matthew’s head resting on his chest, just below the shoulder, so he was half laying on Tobias. That’s right, I slept at Matthew’s place last night.

He debated about letting the smaller male continue to sleep or giving him an entertaining wake up call when the reason why he woke up in the first place became known with a loud whine. Glancing over at the side of the bed he could see Matthew’s dog staring at him with his head resting on the bed.

“Ah, so you’re the one that woke me up.” He could hear the dog’s tail thump against the floor. Tobias looked back down at Matthew’s sleeping form, and, deciding to let the other sleep, attempted to untangle his self from Matthew’s hold. Attempt being the keyword there, because when he shifted to get out from the smaller male, the arm lying across his chest tightened, inhibiting him from moving away. He tried lightly pushing on the other’s shoulders; to get Matthew to release his hold but trying not to fully wake him up. But that didn’t seem to work either, because once again Matthew just tightened his hold, mumbling some sort of protest into Tobias’ chest.

Smirking slightly at the sleeping form, Tobias sighed, “Come on, Matthew. I need you to move.” He said quietly, pushing a bit more forcefully on Matthew’s shoulder.

Finally, after more unintelligible mumbles, Matthew rolled to the side and released Tobias. Chuckling quietly, he pushed himself to the end of the bed before getting up and grabbing his folded clothes on the dresser to get changed. He frowned at the feeling of putting on day-old clothes, but there was no helping it. Matthew might wear much too large sleeping clothes, but the chances of him having jeans or any other regular clothes that would fit Tobias was a bit unlikely, and Tobias didn’t want to go shifting through the other’s closet to find out.

“Hades, let’s go.” Tobias said quietly once he was done changing, and headed for the bedroom door. He glanced back at the bed one last time, and, fighting the urge to just climb back into bed once more, walked out of the room. He grabbed the same leash by the door that he had used the night before and hooked it to Hades collar, grabbed Matthew’s keys and walked out the door.

Figuring he’d go the same route as he had the night before Tobias locked the door behind him and headed down the stairs, once more impressed at how well Hades followed at his side obediently even though Tobias had no idea how to properly walk a dog. Once outside he glanced around, noticing a tall dark haired man standing a few feet away, looking Tobias’ car with obvious interest holding a retractable leash with a large tan Great Dane, at the end of it, wagging his tail excitedly. He smirked at the sight, the male looked so sullen and formidable while the dog was energetically looking around, almost as if it was happily grinning, the two were such opposites it made whole image rather comedic.

Looking back at the man Tobias frowned, he was sure he recognize him from somewhere, but it just wasn’t clicking in his head where from. Still trying to figure it out, Tobias didn’t notice that the taller male had turned to face him until he heard him speak, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Surprised by the venomous tone, Tobias looked up at him, finally realizing from where he knew the other. “You’re Matthew’s friend, aren’t you? The one from the spa?”

The brunette was glaring at him, “Yeah, you could say that. Now, answer my question, what the hell are you doing at Matt’s apartment?”

Tobias blinked, before regaining his cool composure and smirking slightly, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t I wasn’t allowed to stay the night with the one I am currently dating.”

If possible the other male looked at him with even more hatred, before closing his eyes and sighing. When he opened them and looked back over at Tobias, he no longer resonated with anger, instead looking calm and collected, though there still seemed to be an undertone of hatred to his gaze. “That was rude, I apologize.”

The dead tone he said it in said other wise, but Tobias wasn’t going to press the issue. “Quite alright. Perhaps we should start over with an introduction? I know we met before but we didn’t really talk to each other back then.”

“There’s no need for an introduction, I know who you are. Mallory told me all about you and your meetings with Matt during this past week. But I guess I should tell you my name at least, since it doesn’t seem you remember it-“ But the brunette was cut off by Tobias.

“It’s Trent, correct? Sorry, I don’t know you’re last name, Matthew never mentioned it.” Tobias smiled at the surprised look he got from the other male.

“He… mentioned me?”

“Well, yes, he’s told me much about his friends this past week. Especially those that had accompanied him to the spa.” Glancing down at the dog that was staring expectantly up at him, Tobias said, “Perhaps we should start moving? I’d like to finish walking Hades before Matthew wakes up.”

At the mentioning of returning to Matthew Trent’s face hardened again, before nodding tensely, “Yes, there’s a park about a block from here that Matt and I usually go to on Saturdays.”

Noticing the clipped tone Trent now addressed him; Tobias couldn’t help but smirk again before following the taller male down the street, opposite of the way he and Matt had came from last night. They walked in silence for a little while, Tobias quietly observing Trent’s now once again angry demeanor. He had talk to Matt about his friends, but not enough to explain the blatant hostility Trent regarded him with.

“So, I take it you and Matthew walk your dogs together normally?” Tobias asked, attempting to break the silence.

Dark eyes glanced over at him before looking forward once again, “We used to.”

Tobias raised an eyebrow at the short response, but when it didn’t seem like Trent was going to elaborate, he ventured, “So, you don’t anymore?”

Trent glanced at him again before sighing resignedly, “No, not lately at least.” Tobias was once going to ask him to continue when Trent did anyways, “I have a feeling he’s been purposely walking Hades at a different time to avoid me, in fact.”

“I’m sure Matthew isn’t avoiding you on purpose.” Tobias argued, but Trent let out a mirthless laugh.

“Hah, you really don’t know him do you? That man has avoidance down to an art form.” Trent said this with a slight edge to his voice, making the other male frown slightly.

Tobias thought quietly before finally answering, “Yes, well, I suppose having the disapproval of an ex-love to deal every time he did meet up you would deter him from wanting to.”

Trent shrugged slightly before what Tobias had said fully sunk in, causing him to stop and look over at the white haired male, “Excuse me?”

“You and Matthew, you two were once involved, correct?”

Trent was silent for a couple moments before asking, “Did Matt tell you that?”

“No, in fact we haven’t really talked about past lovers all that much. I just deduced it from how you were acting. You should know that for a lawyer, you are horrible at controlling your emotions.” Tobias said with an almost uninterested air about him as he started walking down the street, calling over his shoulder, “Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Matthew told me you’re lawyer. He told me quite a bit about all of you, in fact.”

“But never mentioned me being his ex-boyfriend?” Trent asked when he caught back up, a little dubious.

But Tobias just shrugged, “No, can’t say he did. And I think I would’ve remembered that bit.”

Trent was silent for a few moments, regarding Tobias as if he was sizing him up, “You seem pretty calm about all this.”

Once again, Tobias shrugged, “Should I be more upset? From what I can tell, Matthew has no current interest in you other than as a friend so whatever feelings you have for him are completely one-sided.”

Tobias could see the other man look over at him in slight shock out of the corner of his eye, and knew he was being exceptionally cold to the other man, but at the same time knew he wasn’t lying. He had not noticed any thing that would hint to Matthew having any other current relationships or attachments to past lovers.

“You’re a pretty cold, aren’t you?” Trent said once he regained his composure a bit, before taking the final turn towards their destination, which was a rather small park nestled in-between the numerous apartment buildings.

Tobias smirked, “I have been told that before.”

Scoffing slightly, Trent headed past Tobias into the park, choosing a bench to sit at a little way in and releasing the button on the lead, letting his dog have the entire 16 foot lead to run around with. Tobias walked over to where he was sitting, but keeping a good couple foot distance from him.

“You might as well take a seat,” Before Tobias could say anything in return, Trent continued, “Don’t worry about getting back before Matt gets up, without Hades there to wake him he’ll be out for the next couple hours at least.”

Tobias hesitated before sitting down at the opposite end of the bench, with Hades sitting beside him looking up at him expectantly. Not exactly sure what the dog was wanting, Tobias glanced over at Trent who just sighed and called Hades over. He then proceeded to unhook the leash from the dog’s collar before waving him off, to which the dog happily obliged, trotting off to take care of his business before finding a shady spot under a nearby tree and falling asleep.

“Should you really just let him lose like that?”

“He’s fine. A lot better trained than…” Trent sighed when he spotted his dog, “Zeus.”

Tobias looked back over to the dogs to see Trent’s dog had now started bouncing around Hades, darting in here and there in an obvious attempt to play. But instead of showing any interest, Hades just continued to lie there, asleep.

“Zeus,” Trent called, fishing a nylon dog bone from his back pocket and tossed it when the dog trotted over. Zeus jumped to grab bone and then proceeded to prance around the area tossing his head all over with the bone in his mouth, obviously showing off. Trent shook his head at the dog’s antics before turning back to Tobias.

“Your dog’s name is… Zeus? Isn’t that a little obsessive? I know you him, but naming your dog after his is a little much.” Tobias said, looking slightly amused.

Trent looked at him confused until he realized Tobias’ meaning, “I didn’t name him, Matt did. He’s a rescue Matt found about a year ago, but he can’t keep two large dogs in an apartment and his parents already have four dogs living at their house, so he asked me to take care of him.”

“So, obviously Matthew has a thing for Greek mythology.”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Trent said with a slight smirk, “Though I didn’t realize Dane’s were so…”

“Excitable?” Tobias provided helpfully, but Trent just shook his head.

“Moronic.”

Trent sighed and his mood turned somber before turning towards Tobias once again, “Anyways, back to what I wanted to talk to you about. How… serious are you and Matt?”

Tobias quirked an eyebrow in interest, though he wasn’t at all surprised where the conversation had headed, “I’d like to say pretty serious, but that’s just speaking from my side, I don’t know about Matthew.”

Trent sighed and seemed to be steeling himself for whatever he was going to say next, “Alright, I really don’t know how to but this delicately, so I’m just going to go for it. How ever serious you two are, slow it down, because from what I can tell so far, when you to break up, you’re going to be ruining his life. Or at least what he’s been able to rebuild so far.”

Tobias blinked, what ever he had been expecting, that certainly had not been it. “Ruining his life? I’m sure you’re being a slightly overdramatic.”

“I assure you, I’m not.” Trent said this solemnly, and Tobias studied his face but could see no telltale signs of lying.

“Okay, explain.”

“Matt…” Trent paused, struggling with what to say next, “Well, let’s just say Matt has had certain… problems in the past that makes him rather self harming after he has broken with some one.”

Fearing the worst, Tobias asked, “He hurts himself? How? By cutting or-”

“Wait, slow down there. I didn’t mean physically harming himself, I mean more emotionally… I guess? I don’t know how to put it, Mallory’s better at explaining this than I am.”

Tobias’ eyes narrowed, “And Mallory’s not here, so spill. What’s wrong with Matt, and why haven’t you helped him with it if you’re supposed to be his friend.”

“I’ve tried helping him, but I…” Trent sighed in defeat, “I honestly don’t know how to, he blocks out everyone else too effectively when it comes to this.”

“You still haven’t told what ‘this’ is.”

“Right. Let’s see…” Trent fell silent again, before finally saying, “Have you ever noticed Matt acting weird when it comes to information about himself. Such as his phone number, or where he lives, things like that?”

Tobias frowned, and thought back, “Well… he did take off right after I offered him a ride home on our first date, and before that he looked absolutely terrified when I saw him at his work.”

“There’s a reason for that, he was trying to keep you away, it’s what he always does when it comes to relationships, makes the clean-up after things go down hill much easier.”

“Clean-up? What do you mean?”

Trent sighed yet again, something that was starting to annoy Tobias, that and his roundabout way of explaining, “I mean, that as soon as you two break up, he’ll be gone. It’s how he deals with a relationship ending. Everything you know about him will change, his phone number, his work, his home, everything.”

Tobias looked at him in disbelief, “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not. I wish I was, but unfortunately that’s not the case.”

“What would happen to him that would make him go to such extremes as changing everything about him self just so that his ex wouldn’t be able to contact him anymore?”

“Besides getting attacked by an ex?”

Tobias’ eyes darkened, “What?”

“About four years ago when Matt was finishing up his first year of college he was going out with this one guy. I don’t know too much about it, because at the time I was going to law school two states over, so this is only what I’ve heard from Mallory afterwards.”

Holding up a hand to stop Trent’s explanation, Tobias asked, “Wait, I take it you two knew each other before this, whatever it is, happened?”

Trent looked over at him, “Yeah, we’ve known of each other since we were kids, living in the same small town. We didn’t really become close till high school.” His expression turned skeptical, “I though Matt told you all this?”

“We talked about what you guys do for a living, not your whole histories together back till the day you met.” Tobias replied back indifferently, before a slight dark smirk crept onto his face, “So… if you two knew each all the way back then. I’m guessing you were his first, weren’t you?”

Trent frowned, “I don’t really see how that is relevant but yes, I was.”

Tobias snorted and looked away, “No wonder you’re so protective of him.”

The frown turned into a scowl, “Anyways, apparently the guy was trying to take things too fast with Matt, kept on pushing him to the next step and eventually Matt broke up with him saying if he didn’t respect his boundaries that he didn’t respect him.” Tobias nodded in understanding and Trent continued, “At first, it didn’t seem like the break up was going to be a problem, neither one seemed all that into the relationship by that time and to Mallory it looked a nice clean break.”

Tobias’ face became solemn again, “But it wasn’t.”

Trent nodded, “Right, by the sounds of it the guy was pissed at Matt for being a ‘tease’, and had started to pester him after they separated. Eventually the pestering became more like stalking, but no one else knew what was going on because Matt was hiding everything too well. The only reason why Mallory figured anything out was because he intercepted one of the letters.”

Tobias blinked, “Letters?”

Nodding again, Trent continued, “Yeah, by the time Mallory found out the guy was sending Matt letters, the one Mallory got was pretty descriptive of what Matt had been doing for the past couple days.”

“Descriptive in a ‘watching you all the time even when you’re at home’ sort of way?”

Trent sighed before nodding once more, “Mallory tried to get him to go to the police, but Matt’s never been one to confront things head on, the fact that he even broke up with the guy in the first place is surprising enough.”

“Why was Mallory the only one who was concerned about this, what about the other’s that lived around here?” Tobias asked, aggravated that it seemed as if no one else was willing to help.

“Because none of them met up until after Matt and Mallory graduated from school,” Trent snapped back at him. “Happy?”

“No, but continue anyways.”

Trent’s scowl returned full force, “As I was saying, Matt refused any help, from police or anyone else. From what Mallory told me Matt had convinced his self that nothing was going to happen, that the guy was all talk and it’d all blow over eventually.”

“So what actually happened?”

“Mallory said he started visiting Matt daily, and if he couldn’t visit he’d call to make sure everything’s okay, of course he’d always come up with excuses on why he was actually there. One night he didn’t think he’d be able to make it, so gave Matt a call instead. When he didn’t pick up, Mallory got worried and headed over.” Trent paused, taking a deep breath before continuing in a low voice, “I don’t know exactly what happened, Mallory won’t tell me because Matt asked him not too, but I do know that he showed up in time to stop it.”

Sighing again, Trent continued his explanation, sounding slightly defeated now, “Right afterwards Matt did his first disappearing act. He was completely gone for two days before suddenly showing up again with everything changed. He had moved, got a new number, changed his email; even quit the part-time job he had. At the time Mallory thought it was just his way of coping with what had happened but half a year later Matt started dating again and him and a guy got pretty serious. After awhile though they separated and then it happened again. And then it kept happening, every time Matt got involved with someone once they stopped seeing each other he’d change whatever they knew about him. Mallory tried to confront him about it, but Matt kept evading him about it to the point that Mallory stopped asking because he was afraid Matt would do the same with him as with his exes.”

Tobias was silent for a while, “So, let me get this straight. For the past four years one of your closest friends rips his life apart every time he gets in a relationship, while you and all of his other friends just sit by and watch?”

Trent started to say something in defense but Tobias held up a hand to stop him, “I wasn’t done.” Now glaring, Trent leaned back and made a signal to continue.

“But that isn’t what I’m really wondering, what I am curious about is why did you tell me any of this in the first place?” Tobias asked, but Trent was quick to respond, “I thought that would be obvious, so you know what will happen when you two break up, how much you’ll be messing up his life.”

Tobias frowned, “Still, the point? If, and I do mean if Matthew and I ever break up, what would be the difference of me knowing what Matthew is going through or not? Besides perhaps feeling guilty on my part."

Once again Trent tried to say something, but Tobias cut him off, “Still not done.”

Now looking murderous, Trent said lowly, “Then stop asking questions and get to the point.”

Tobias smirked coldly before continuing on, “Anyways, there are two different reasons I’ve thought of that would justify the reasoning behind you telling me all this. The first is that by realizing just how much Matthew’s life would be turned on end, I’ll decide to stay with him longer, postponing the eventual breakup over whatever guilt I may feel about it, even if the relationship is going down hill. The other is reason is that you’re trying to scare me off, that if Matthew is unstable enough that he voluntarily messes up his own life after every break up, what else could be wrong with him?”

“Now…” Tobias was distracted momentarily when he saw Hades go trotting by with Zeus’ bone in his mouth and lying down just out of reach of the other dog. He couldn’t help but smirk once again before turning his attention back to Trent, who had for once smartly kept quiet and was waiting for him to finish, though still looking rather peeved.

“Sorry,” He apologized without any real feeling behind it, “As I was saying, you would probably like it if I thought that you did this all for the first reason, that you wanted Matthew’s life to stay as calm and normal as it could be, just like the good friend you are. But you and I both now that’s not the case. You want me gone, just like you’ve wanted every other boyfriend of Matthew’s gone, because in your head you two still have a chance together, and you’re hoping that one of these times he’ll suddenly notice that he still has feelings for you and will come running back.”

Once Tobias was finished they sat there in silence for a while, both glaring at the other, until Trent finally said, “So, are you done now? May I speak again?”

“Not that I’m really interested in all you have to say at this point, but yes, go ahead.”

Trent made an indignant sound in the back of his throat before leaning back into the bench again, “Well, I’m not going to deny it or anything. I do want you gone, I’ve wanted you gone ever since the damn night at the spa, and I especially want you gone after talking to you now, because from what I can see, you’re a cold hearted bastard that doesn’t even deserve to know Matt, let alone be dating him.”

“And from what I can see you’re a pathetic ex-boyfriend that doesn’t know how to get over a high school sweetheart, let alone gathering up the balls to ask him out again.” Tobias saw Trent wince slightly before he resumed his glaring, and couldn’t help letting the cold smirk resurface. “But, as much fun as it to sit here and trade insults with you, there is currently a sleeping little brunette that I need to get back to. So, if you’ll excuse me,” Tobias turned toward where Hades was at and whistled, “Hades, let’s go!”

As the dog trotted dutifully over Tobias stood up and clasped the leash back to his collar. Grabbing the least slobbered part of the bone that was sticking out of the dog’s mouth, he took it and tossed it back to Trent, who made a face before sitting it on the bench beside him.

“You know that I’m not going to stop getting rid of you, correct?”

Tobias had already started to walk away, and paused to look over his shoulder, “But of course, things wouldn’t be as much fun if you didn’t. Oh, and next time, don’t lie to me. Pretending like this is the first time you’ve ever had to say this little speech at the beginning makes you look even worse.”

Taking stock of the shocked look Trent had on; Tobias turned back around and backtracked the way they had originally come. As cool and confident he had been acting back there, he was secretly glad that he’d have a couple of minutes of time alone to try to sort things out in his head before he got back to Matthew’s apartment. Though not as much time as he would like, as all too soon he was once again in front of the now familiar apartment building, sifting through the keys to find the correct one and letting himself in. Once actually inside Matthew’s apartment a quick glance into the bedroom told him that Trent had not lied about that part, because the brunette was still sleeping soundly sprawled out in the middle of the bed.

In spite of how serious the morning had turned out so far, Tobias couldn’t help but smile at the sleeping form, almost tempted to climb back into bed with him. But no, they had some things to talk about when Matthew woke up, and the bedroom probably wouldn’t be the best place to do so. So, instead of happily crawling back into the bed he headed into the kitchen to see if he’d be able to at least make a cup of coffee while waiting for the other to wake. Luckily for him Matthew had already set up his coffee maker sometime the day before, and all he needed to do was turn it on and wait, something he seemed to be doing a bit of this morning.

Leaning against the counter Tobias fell into deep thought, his mind once again wandering back to the odd conversation this morning. Sure, he had suspected something was up with Matthew; he seemed too guarded for something not to be strange, but for it to be this large was a little unexpected, to say the least. Lost in his musings, Tobias hadn’t realized the amount of time that had passed until a small beep signaled the coffee was ready, pulling him out of his thoughts. For the first time he glanced at the clock on the wall, realizing that it was already half past 9 o’clock. Not all that late, but sitting here waiting for someone to wake up isn’t exactly thrilling and he was starting to get antsy. Grabbing a mug and pouring a cup of coffee, Tobias once again debated about waking Matthew up or just letting him sleep. But before he could make up his mind, Matthew had made the decision for him, or at least that’s what he guessed judging by the shuffling sounds coming from the bedroom.

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Rubbing his eyes to clear them, Matt sat up in bed and looked at his alarm clock. Wow, I’m surprised Hades let me sleep this long. He glanced around the room and frowned, seeing no signs of Tobias, had he left already? Not bothering to get changed yet he stumbled out of the bedroom and across the hall to his small bathroom to take care of business. Once done he slowly made his way to the kitchen, smelling… coffee? He didn’t have an automatic coffee maker, which meant… He looked into the kitchen to see Tobias leaning against the counter with a mug full of coffee, looking at him with an amused expression.

“Good morning, Matthew. Glad to see you’re finally awake.” Tobias took a sip of his coffee before setting it on the counter behind him.

“’Morning. I wasn’t sure if you were still here.” Matt stepped into the kitchen and fetched his favorite mug from the dishwasher. Because his back was now facing Tobias, he didn’t see the frown that appeared on the other’s face.

Though he could hear it when Tobias spoke, “Why would you think that?”

Matt turned back around to look up at him, noticing the rather serious expression on Tobias’ face. “I-it’s just that all your stuff was gone when I got up, wasn’t sure if you had to leave or something.”

“All my stuff was gone because I’m wearing it, as you can see.”

Matt ran his eyes over Tobias’ body and realized he was already fully dressed, making Matt feel a little silly in his oversized pajama bottoms and a ratty old t-shirt. “Oh, right.”

Now feeling increasingly awkward, Matt looked away and noticed Hades standing in the kitchen doorway, “Oh! I’ve got to let you out still. I’ll go get chang-”

“No, you don’t need to. I took him for a walk earlier.”

Matt blinked and looked back at him, “You did?”

Tobias nodded, “Yes, to the park a few blocks over.”

“Oh… thanks.” Matt said this with a small smile and reached for the coffee pot. It took him until after he had poured himself a cup and turned around to get creamer from his fridge for what Tobias said to fully sink in, causing him to pause with a hand on the fridge door. “Wait, what park?”

“That small one a couple blocks away. It’s small but rather nice.”

Matt turned to look at him, “How did you know it was there?”

“I met a friend of yours that took me over there.” Tobias said this off-handedly, but he was watching Matt carefully, gauging his reaction.

Matt frowned, “A friend?” And then it dawned on him, “…oh.” Sighing, he asked, “So, did you guys have a nice chat?”

Tobias’ eyes narrowed at the sudden snappy tone, not that it surprised him too much, “Yes, we did. About you, in fact.”

Turning around to finally get the creamer from the fridge, Matt asked, “Really? What about me?”

“Oh, you know this and that. He said you two have known each other since high school. Seemed to know a lot about you in fact.”

Matt nodded as he poured creamer into his cup, purposely avoiding Tobias’ gaze as he did so. “Wow, glad to hear you two got along.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t go that far.” Tobias said from beside him. Matt heard the clink of the mug being set on the table as Tobias sighed, “Come on Matthew, you know exactly what Trent and I were talking about, so let’s stop dancing around it.”

Instead of answering Matt took a drink of his coffee, still facing the counter so he didn’t have to look at Tobias. They stood in silence for a couple minutes, Tobias patiently awaiting an answer and Matt reluctant to give one until, “So, I guess you’ll be leaving now, right?”

Tobias looked at the other in shock, Matt had said it so softly that he wasn’t sure he heard right, “What?”

“You’re going to leave, just like the others did.” Again, this was softly spoken, low enough that Tobias could barely hear him saying anything at all. So he was surprised when Matt suddenly turned toward him with an overly bright smile on his face, “Well, I’d like to say I’ll see you around, but we both know that’s not the case.” He turned briskly away and began walking out of the kitchen, saying a goodbye over his shoulder as he went.

Tobias stood in complete and utter shock for a couple seconds before moving into action, quickly stepping forward and grabbing Matt’s wrist to prevent him from leaving. “Wait, Matthew. I never said I was going anywhere!”

Matt stopped but kept turned away slightly, his head lowered so his eyes were completely covered by his bangs, “You didn’t need to.”

“If I was going to leave you, I would say so, and I would have a much better reason than this.” Tobias said lowly, moving in front of Matt in an attempt to meet his gaze.

But Matt just turned his head to the side, “Oh, so you’re taking the pity route instead. Save it, please, because I don’t need it.”

“I’m not…” Tobias sighed in exasperation, and kneeled down on the floor, putting him about a head shorter than the other male so he could see past the curtain of bangs and into Matt’s eyes. To which Matt finally turned to look at him, confusion written across his face. “I don’t pity you, nor do I plan on leaving you. So, please stop trying to push me away.”

Matt gave him a calculating look, “I don’t get you.”

Tobias arched a brow, “What do you mean?”

“I… I don’t know.” Matt shifted his gaze to look at the side again, “You’re just different… Really different…”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tobias said dryly, and a small smile flitted across Matt’s face.

But the smile was gone quickly, and Matt frowned once again, “So… now what?”

Shrugging slightly Tobias stood once again, “We could talk about this, if you want to, that is.”

Matt looked down in thought before shaking his head and looking back up at Tobias, “No, I’m kind of tired of talking about it. I know they mean well, but I’ve had to talk to my friends about it every time I get out of a relationship and it gets a little tedious.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Tobias asked, “So, why don’t you stop? Doing what you do, I mean.”

Matt frowned and shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. This just seems easier sometimes, and by this point it has almost become like a second nature.”

Tobias nodded, but didn’t press anymore, respecting the other’s wish not to talk about it more. Instead he walked back over to the counter to take a drink of his now cool coffee, “I do have to ask one thing though.”

Looking dubious, Matt asked, “And that is…?”

“You aren’t an axe murdered or anything like that, correct?” Tobias said this so seriously, Matt just blinked in surprise.

“What? No, why would you even think of something like that?”

Now smirking slightly in amusement, Tobias said, “Just making sure, the way you acted when I tried to open that other door last night, seemed a little suspicious.”

To Tobias’ surprise, Matt suddenly started to look… embarrassed? His face was slightly flushed and he was purposely not looking at the other male. “O-oh, that. Yeah, it’s nothing. Just storage, like I said last night.”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I took a look then?” Tobias asked, pushing himself off the counter and toward the hallway.

“No!” Matt jumped in Tobias’ way to stop him, “I-I mean, it’s a mess in there, you don’t want to see it.”

Leaning down so they’re faces were only inches apart, Tobias smirked, “What are you hiding, Matthew?”

“N-nothing.” Matt stammered out, his face now beat red.

Closing the distance between the two of them, Tobias captured Matt’s lips in what started as a soft, chaste kiss, though it didn’t stay that way for long. Matt couldn’t help but moan slightly as Tobias pressed against him, one hand angling Matt’s chin upward while at the same time slipping a deft tongue into the other’s mouth. Matt eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around the other’s neck to pull them closer together. He wasn’t sure how long they were like that, only that he was quickly losing himself into the heat of the moment, and was disappointed when Tobias suddenly pulled back. He chuckled slightly at the clouded lustful look in Matt’s eyes before leaning forward again, this time to put his mouth right by the smaller male’s ear, “You’re lying.”

Matt stood there in a slight daze as Tobias sidestepped by him and started down the hall, the sound of a door opening snapping him out of it. Cursing under his breath that Tobias was able to distract him so easily and chased after the other male. But it was too late, Tobias was in the room and he could hear the other let out a low appreciative whistle. Stepping into the doorway Matt glanced around the familiar room, the morning light bathed the numerous unfinished charcoal sketches and paintings in a bright yellow glow. Tobias stood in the center of the room and continued to look around before turning to flash Matt a grin, who only folded his arms across his chest and looked away, feeling his cheeks begin to redden in embarrassment.

“Why didn’t you want me to see this?” Tobias asked as he walked back to the other, stepping behind him to wrap his arms around Matt’s waist and resting his head on top of the brunette’s so he could still see inside the room.

“I don’t like people knowing that I do stuff like this.”

Tobias chuckled, “Matthew, you’re an artist. This is what people expect you to do.”

“No, I’m a graphic designer, this is fine arts.” He reclined his head back to look up at Tobias, “There is a difference.”

“Oh? And what is so bad about fine arts?”

Matt shrugged, “There’s nothing wrong with it…”

He heard the other lightly laugh again, though this time it was right against the back of his ear, causing a shiver to run down his spine, “You certainly are confusing.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Matt deadpanned.

Now Tobias fully laughed and pulled away from Matt, walking back into the room, “As it was meant. Confusing means interesting.”

“Really, I thought it meant insanity.” Matt muttered this to himself, but evidently Tobias had still heard him, because he turned and flashed the brunette another smirk before looking back at a nearby painting.

“You’re very good. The charcoal works are nice, but you’re painting skills are superb.” Tobias said, carefully picking his way around the room. There were a few unfinished works decorating a long table against one wall, while the rest of the room was littered with multiple paintings and supplies, and only a couple easels both with almost finished paintings on them. The carpeted floor had been covered with plastic as well, because Matt knew from experience how hard it was to get artistic mediums of any sort out of carpet.

“T-thanks.”

Tobias smiled at him again before turning to look at one of the paintings resting on a nearby easel and paused. “Is that…?”

Matt glanced over at what Tobias was looking at and his eyes widened, “I-it’s nothing!”

But Tobias wasn’t listening to him, instead he walked closer to the painting to get a better look, “That’s you, isn’t it?”

Now red once again, Matt looked away and mumbled defensively, “It’s not just me.”

He could hear the other chuckle at his embarrassment and looked back to see him closely examining the unfinished painting. Tobias glanced back at him, “Is this your family?”

Matt nodded, face still red, “It’s for my parents. A Christmas present.”

Tobias arched a brow, “Christmas is almost eight months away.”

“I’ve been working on it for a pretty long time now.”

“As in a few months?”

“As in about a year, maybe longer.” Matt said this sheepishly, and Tobias laughed again.

“No wonder there’s so much detail, if it takes you that long to finish a painting.”

Matt sighed, “Alright, you saw what I was hiding, are you happy now?”

Tobias shrugged and looked back into the room, to which Matt sighed again, turning to walk back to the kitchen. He paused, however, when he heard Tobias say something.

Poking his head back into the art room, Matt saw Tobias’ back was still facing him, “What was that?”

“Oh, I was just commenting on the many uses of paints. Both conventional and non-conventional.” As he said this Tobias turned just enough to look back at Matt, smirking once again.

Not getting what he meant at first, Matt stood there confused, until Tobias fully turned toward him with a tube of red paint in hands and a look in his eyes that Matt did not like. All right, maybe he did like it, but not in this particular instance if Tobias was thinking what Matt thought he was.

Raising his hands as if to fend the other off, Matt began backing up, “Tobias, no. Just… no.”

Tobias acted as if hurt, but began advancing anyways, “What? You act as if you don’t trust me, Matthew.”

“Because right now, I don’t. Put the paint down.” Matt took a couple more steps back and eeped when his back hit the hallway wall. Flashing an almost feral grin, Tobias picked up his speed and, not waiting to see what exactly Tobias was going to do, Matt took off down the hallway, back toward the kitchen. Once there he paused in indecision, which gave Tobias the time he needed to catch up, wrapping his arms around the Matt’s chest and pulling him back into the other male. Matt gasped when a he felt Tobias’ mouth along his neck, nipping, licking, kissing, and all other kinds of things that were making him weak in the knees.

“Nngh, T-Tobias, stop…” Matt grabbed onto the hands that were wrapped around him, though it was less to push them off and more as a bit of stability.

Tobias relinquished his assault on Matt’s neck just long enough to ask, “Why?”

Matt had to fight to remain cognitive when Tobias started on his neck again, “The p-paint… It’s messy…”

He felt more than heard the chuckle from the man behind him before Matt was spun around and moved against the counter top, “That’s the point.”

Pinning him against the counter Tobias captured Matt’s mouth in an intense kiss, causing the brunette to moan and forget exactly why he was trying to stop the other. Fisting one hand into Tobias’ white hair and the other hand firmly grabbed onto his waist, pulling the taller male closer and farther into the kiss. Matt felt the low chuckle come from Tobias as two arms were moved up to rest on either side of Matt’s head while a thigh nudged between his legs. It didn’t take long for Matt to almost completely lose himself into the heat of the moment, but something was off. He couldn’t feel Tobias’ hands, just the weight of his arms resting on his shoulders, and normally it wouldn’t concern him too much, but something in the back of his mind was telling him to be concerned. And then he remembered the tube of paint Tobias had been holding, and since his hands weren’t on Matt, that meant they were probably… undoing the cap of the paint. Shit.

Untangling his arms from around Tobias, Matt began pushing on the taller male’s chest while bending backwards to attempt to separate them enough so he could at least talk. Getting the hint Tobias reluctantly pulled back a bit, but instead of giving Matt his space he started kissing down the side of his jaw and toward the crook of his neck, which was making it rather hard to concentrate for the brunette.

Trying to focus, Matt continued to push against Tobias’ chest, “Tobias… wait…”

“Hm?”

Matt frowned in concentration, trying to ignore the assault on his neck, “I don’t… the paint…”

“Are you still worried about the paint being messy?” Tobias pulled back a bit and flashed another grin at Matt, “Don’t worry, I’ll help clean up afterwards.”

Taking a breath, Matt explained, “No, that’s not it. That paint’s oil based.”

Tobias arched a brow in interest, “Meaning?”

“It’s almost impossible to clean up and probably toxic.”

Tobias straightened at the mention ‘toxic’, “Really?”

Matt nodded quickly and Tobias frowned, pulling a bit farther away and bringing the tube of paint out from behind Matt. After tightly screwing the lid back on he set it aside on the counter top before returning his focus back on Matt who was still leaning against the counter top. Stepping back up to the brunette so they were flushed against each other once again, Tobias ran his hands down Matt’s side to rest on his hips. Now smirking at Matt’s confused look, he lifted the smaller male and placed him on the counter, which because of Matt’s height put him only a few inches taller than Tobias.

Blushing anew, Matt looked down at the other, “W-what are you doing?”

“Just because we can’t have fun with paint doesn’t mean we can’t have fun at all.” Tobias said this with another smirk, sliding his hands up under Matt’s shirt, his smirk widening as Matt’s face reddened.

“So…” Tobias leaned forward, so they’re faces were only inches apart, “What do you say we have some fun?”

“Uh…” Was about all Matt got out before Tobias pulled him forward for another hungry kiss, running his tongue along the brunette’s mouth in silent permission, to which Matt hastily gave. Matt moaned and gasped as Tobias’ hands moved to the front of his chest, thumbs flicking over pink nubs. Hands darted out and tangled in white hair as the kiss deepened, both lost in the sensations as they explored each other’s mouth.

When Tobias moved his hands down to tug at Matt’s shirt, he quickly leaned back, allowing the other to pull the shirt over his head and toss it who-knows-where behind him. When they met back together Tobias started on Matt’s neck again, this time on the opposite side, while Matt’s fingers began fumbling with the buttons of Tobias’ shirt. He could hear Tobias chuckle once again before helping him with the shirt, quickly peeling it off and letting it fall behind him as well. Matt let his head fall back as Tobias moved lower on his neck and continued down along his collarbone, Matt’s hands once more latched onto Tobias’ messy hair.

Pulling out of his reverie slightly to realize he was still sitting on his kitchen counter, Matt tried to say something, “Hmm, T-Tobias… may…maybe we should move this to the… Ah!”

He was interrupted however when Tobias moved to latch onto a nipple, while a free hand began teasing the other, causing Matt to moan and arch into the touch. He heard that damn chuckle again as Tobias pulled away slightly, “Sorry, were trying to say something?”

Matt glared down at him, “You know I wa- ngh!” he arched once again as Tobias returned to torturing, this time focusing his mouth on the other nipple while a hand slid inside the hem of Matt’s pants. They were both interrupted, however, when a deep, resounding bark came from behind Tobias, followed by a long whine. They looked curiously at each other before looking behind Tobias, toward the entrance of the kitchen where Hades was sitting watching them, headed cocked to the side and tail wagging.

Looking back at Matt, Tobias asked, “Does he want something?”

Matt shrugged, but then it dawned on him, “Shit. Yes, he wants something, food. I forgot to feed him.”

Tobias sighed and backed away from Matt, retrieving both of their shirts before handing Matt his. After sliding his own shirt on, Matt looked over at Tobias as he buttoned up his own shirt over the tank that had never been removed. “How do I keep ending up the one less clothed when things like this happen?”

Tobias glanced over at him and grinned, “Wear more clothes.”

“We wore the same amount of clothes last night, and I still ended up more undressed than you.” Matt argued, hopping down from the counter top.

Tobias chuckled lightly, moving in for chaste kiss before fully pulling away. “I’m going to go, alright?”

Startled, Matt asked, “What? Why?”

“Because if I stay any longer, I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you.”

Matt was about to say ask why that would be a problem, but restrained, instead heading over to open the tall bin that held Hades food and bowl.

“That and I would like to get a shower and a fresh change of clothes, it feels strange starting out the morning with neither.”

“Oh, was that what that smell was?” Matt asked lightly, filling Hades food bowl and walking over to the sink to run some hot water over it. He saw Tobias look at him oddly before turning his head as if to sniff his shirt but then stopped and smirked at the brunette. “You almost had me with that one.”

Matt smiled and placed the food bowl on the floor, moving out of the way when Hades came running over to eat, “I tried.”

Still smirking, Tobias walked over and once again gave Matt an innocent kiss, this time on the forehead though, much to the brunette’s displeasure, “How about I see you tonight? Perhaps going out or we could spend the entire night in?”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

Tobias quirked an eyebrow as he looked down at Matt, “Which is it? Out or in?”

“Oh… um, well…” Matt wanted to say in, because he knew exactly what Tobias was hinting at with that option, but at the same time he didn’t because of the embarrassment of that exact same reason.

Chuckling, Tobias stepped away and started for the front door, “Why don’t you call me in a couple hours with your decision?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Matt heard Tobias laugh lightly again and frowned at his back.

Tobias turned back around to face Matt once he had reached the door and opened it, “So see you tonight, right?”

Matt nodded and Tobias leaned down for a certainly not innocent kiss, cupping the back of Matt’s head with one hand to angle his head for better access. Making an appreciate noise in the back of his throat, Tobias broke off the kiss, whispering huskily into Matt’s ear, “Can’t wait,” before standing up and smirking once again, before heading down the hall way toward the stairs.

Standing in stunned silence, Matt watched the other leave, then numbly closed the door and leaned against it. There goes never leaving me high and dry. Matt thought dryly to himself. He stood back up straight and headed back to his room, finally deciding to get dressed. He didn’t get too far though when he heard his cell phone ring that same annoying song Tobias had programmed into it before. He’s calling already?

Rushing over to where the phone was sitting beside the couch, Matt didn’t even bother to look at the display before answering, “You just left 10 seconds ago, I need more time to decide than that.”

“Heya, Matt.”

Blinking, Matt pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the name, which said ‘sexy devil’. Knowing whom it was despite of that he put the phone back up to his ear and responded back, “Hello, Mallory. Can I ask when you had the chance to screw with my phone?”

“Yesterday, of course. I snatched it when you went to the bathroom. I wanted to see what you’d say if you thought Snowball was calling you. Which, by the way, he left only 10 seconds ago? What happened with your date last night, Matthew?”

Matt frowned at the use of his full name, “None of your business, Mal. Now what do you want?”

“Aw, come on. You know I hate that nickname. That’s just harsh.”

Now getting annoyed, Matt snapped into the phone, “Mallory! What. Do. You. Want.”

Matt could almost see Mallory roll his eyes, “Jeez, obviously someone didn’t get laid last night. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out with us tonight. We’re going to that club downtown.”

“Can’t, Tobias and I are doing something.”

“Alright, bring him along then. He could meet the guys and see you drunk. It’ll be a blast!”

“I just said we’re doing something, as in a date just the two of us. Not a group outing.”

“Oh come off it. What exactly did you two have planned that would be better than going out with the group?”

Trying to think of something quickly, Matt stuttered out, “Uh… w-well, we were going to… um…”

“See, you didn’t have anything planned, so tonight, you, Snowball, and all the guys. I’ll be there at 6 sharp with clothes for you.”

Resigned to his fate, Matt sighed, “I don’t need you to bring me clothes, Mallory. I have my own.”

“No, you have t-shirts, jeans and like 3 collared shirts. I’m bringing you clothes. Now call Snowy and let him know he’s going and to dress sexy.”

And that was it, as soon as Mallory was done speaking he ended the call, leaving Matt to stutter arguments into dead air. Knowing that if he didn’t call Tobias, Mallory would just steal his phone when he came over that night, Matt decided to get it over with know and thumbed through his phonebook. Finding the contact still named ‘Art Pimp’ Matt sighed again, I need to remember to change that, before hitting the call button and raising the phone back up to his ear as it began ringing. Hoping that Tobias would say no and insist on a night alone, just the two of them and that he would be just as set against it for when Mallory bugged him as when Matt asked him.

After what seemed like forever but was only a few rings, Matt heard the telltale click as Tobias answered the phone before hearing the other’s voice, “Matthew?”

____________________________________


Author Notes have been deleted per the request of AFF.net.