oops (
necksock) wrote in
bakerstreet2016-02-05 05:45 pm
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the picture prompt

the integrated picture prompt meme
FOR ALL YOUR GEN, SHIPPY, SMUT AND AU PIC PROMPT NEEDS
i. COMMENT WITH CHARACTER. INCLUDE PREFERENCES (gen/shippy/smut/au/all)
ii. OTHERS LEAVE A PICTURE (OR TWO OR THREE....)
iii. REPLY TO THEM WITH A SETTING BASED ON THE IMAGES.
THIS POST WILL BE IMAGE HEAVY AND POSSIBLY NSFW.
link to an image: embed an image: control width and height:
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I don't like it when you fight.
[ Its both a confession and an unnecessarily obvious statement. ]
He told me about dad, you know.
[ And more than that; before they took Aurora from the Barns Ronan had spun her origin into a beautiful fairy tale for his little brother, an explanation of the magic that he hoped would happen when they brought her to Cabeswater. He'd promised to tell Matthew all of their father's secrets and he'd come through on that one.
And Matthew, wide-eyed with wonder and full to bursting with the hope of having his mother back, had asked him if Declan knew, too.
Of course he had.
It's why he lied about burglars and put the gun in his car and it was one of the reasons Ronan's carelessness infuriated him so badly.
The summer taught Matthew that his family was made of secrets that needed to be guarded carefully. Ronan and Declan are just so much better at it than he is. ]
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[He couldn't have told Matthew about himself. Even Ronan wouldn't be so careless; even Ronan wouldn't be so brutal with the truth. And Declan doesn't know to to ask if Matthew knows about it. If Matthew knows that he came from the same place as Aurora. He desperately wants Ronan to live.
Because of Matthew as much as for himself.]
Buddy, Ronan and I will never be friends again. You get that, right?
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[ Matthew quickly turns his head towards the window, hiding his face from Declan. That's the one thing he can't accept. ]
You could, though.
[ His tone is both stubborn and hopeful, with perhaps a hint of chastisement. It wouldn't be easy, he knows that, but if they both tried... ]
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[He growls a little.]
No.
No, we can't.
[He stole their mother, hoarded her, and made Matthew keep it a secret. How is he supposed to forgive Ronan, who doesn't care about Declan?]
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Finally-- ]
How come you're mad at him and not me?
[ Not that he wants Declan to be mad at him--in fact he hates the thought of Declan being mad at him; the mere possibility of either of his brothers directing towards him the kind of venom they reserve for each other is very nearly unbearable. He would be lost if it happened.
But this doesn't seem fair. ]
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[Because being angry with Matthew is almost impossible; he's sunshine. Because Declan knows that Matthew probably didn't even realize that Declan didn't know. Because Matthew doesn't fight Declan for no reason, he doesn't give Declan a hard time, because they-
-because he didn't steal everything from Declan, like their father's car, their mother, their father.]
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[ Matthew has to admit that much--Ronan hadn't told him outright not to say anything. It's not the same as telling Declan himself and doesn't necessarily mean that Declan is wrong, but...
Matthew thinks Ronan would have told him, eventually. It's pointless to say that now. ]
Would you have ever told me about dad? If you didn't have to.
[ It's not an accusation, and only somewhat related even as a question, but he wants to know. ]
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No.
If he could keep the worst of his father's secrets; the conning, the lying, the dreaming, to as few people as possible, he would. If he could have kept it from Ronan, he would have.
But he can't.
Ronan knows. Ronan knows what Matthew is and Ronan still couldn't tell Declan where he stashed their mother.]
Yes, I think.
[He adds the last bit so it's plausible, the delay. So it sounds like he was thinking about why he hadn't told him yet.]
When you turned 18 and got your trust fund.
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'Cause it's dangerous to know, right?
[ He didn't consciously plan it but every word about their father takes them a little further from the what Ronan had done with their mother, and he's drawn towards the less volatile topic.
Weird, that their dad could ever be the less volatile topic, considering what his death had done to their family. ]
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[That much, at least, isn't a lie.]
What else did Ronan tell you?
[He wonders if Matthew is even capable of lying to him. He doesn think so.]
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He told me why mom-- fell asleep. That she came from one of his dreams.
[ It doesn't change Matthew's feelings for her in the slightest, of course. He's not really sure what it says about Niall. ]
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[God, how is this happening? He doesn't know if he can keep a grip on his family; what happens when this all turns sour for them?
Does Matthew know he's Ronan's dream?]
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[ That last comment is partly speculation, and what he wants to say next is even more so. ]
I think... I think maybe he's trying to figure out how to bring mom back home, too. Without losing her again.
[ There's been something different about his brother lately. A word here, a strange look at their mother when Matthew's visiting with her... He just feels like Ronan isn't satisfied with her situation. ]
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-Matthew will still be there.
If Declan lost all of them, he thinks, he might just die too.]
At least he's doing something.
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It'd be great if they could both see it that way too. ]
He's probably the only one who can figure it out, isn't he?
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Maybe.
[Matthew might be able to help him.
He's not sure he wants Matthew to do that.]
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It's late enough in the day that a few boys are out goofing off on the lawn; they call out and he waves but doesn't stop to start a conversation. The door to the building is propped open again, and it doesn't take long for the brothers to reach what used to be their shared dorm.
Matthew's room is a little different from Matthew and Declan's room. It's clearly become more of a drop-off spot for his stuff since Declan moved out, and not a place he spends more time than he has to. ]
Hang on, I'll be real quick.
[ He's already grabbing up some of the necessities--pillow, the charger for his phone, etc--pushing the mess out of his way when necessary. ]
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God, he wishes he felt nothing. He takes Matthew's rosary from the nightstand and pockets it, even though they'll be back before Matthew needs it again, next Sunday. He stops and Matthew's packing and after a moment he stands.
This is a list of things Declan wants: his father back, his middle brother to be okay with them, his middle brother to die in a fire, to be able to miss his mother for a reason that isn't that he didn't want to be in charge, to go home, to see his mother.
None of these are things Declan can have.
So he bottles it up and says nothing and when Matthew looks ready he casually goes for his phone, texts Ronan, knowing Ronan won't look at it until they're well out of Henrietta.]
Ready?
[He has that vote for me look again. Like it never went away.]
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But his concentration can be a fleeting thing, and it's difficult for him to dwell and pack at the same time. Especially when he's starting to look forward to the trip.
Getting to spend time with Declan, to see his apartment and D.C.--it's going to be good. They can move on from this day, can't they? It doesn't have to be like the day their father died, which was a catastrophic and irreparable thing. ]
Yeah, ready.
[ He has a bag over one shoulder and the pillow under his arm. In truth he's not bringing that much for a week long trip. He remembers to lock the door again before they leave. ]
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He gets a text back.
Declan looks at it.
And pockets his phone.]
We'll stop for something to eat on the way.
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[ Matthew responds with the eagerness and gratitude of an excited puppy, though he hadn't thought of wanting food until this moment. When they reach the car again he tosses his stuff in the back, clambers into the front passenger seat, and buckles in for another ride. ]
Did you text Ronan?
[ Even in his rediscovered cheeriness, he asks the question with some care. If Declan didn't then Matthew really should, before Ronan realizes he's gone.
That would be ugly. (He has no idea it already is.) ]
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[He tosses his phone to Matthew - well, no. He doesn't toss it because Matthew, bless him, won't catch it. He hands his phone to Matthew, and takes his pillow at the same time as he heads to the car. He imagines that whatever Ronan says in response is going to be nasty and at the last minute, he changes his mind.]
Don't read it. It's probably not about you, anyway.
[Except that it's absolutely about Matthew. About the war between them and how Matthew is the only thing that Declan can use against his brother.]
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He'll text Ronan later himself, for whatever that's worth. For now it's enough he knows Matthew hasn't been kidnapped by another drug dealer or something.
He puts it out of his mind. ]
Where do you want to eat? We could go to Nino's. Or something else.
[ They could get dried out hot dogs from a gas station and he'd sing their praises. ]
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Let's get it out of town.
[The faster they get out of town, the less likely that Ronan will show up, drawn to them by some irresistible Lynch magnet, brewing for the kind of fight that will end up with Ronan expelled and Declan picking out foundation to cover his black eye.]
There's the burger place on the way up.
[It is a pit stop kind of diner, the sort of place their father used to love, the kind of place that still can put Declan in the most uneasy of moods, but it doesn't matter. It's good enough.]
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But then, if it weren't for Ronan, Matthew's life would be one hundred percent free of anything.
He tips his head, then smiles suddenly. ]
The one with the creepy cow?
[ What he means is, does Declan mean the diner that, in a reach for tourist attention and memorability, has a rather unsettlingly designed fiberglass cow on the roof, frozen permanently in mid-wave at the road? Matthew, so easily amused by life and its weird things, has a picture of that cow on his phone somewhere, from the last time they'd made their way out there however long ago. ]
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I have no idea why this took so long
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