you are holding a dog carcass.

"GOT YOUR BALLS ON?"

                                                          richie gecko                                 from dusk till dawn: the series                                 icons + brother + para replies                                 indie roleplay + semi-selective                                 i. ii. iii.                                             

  "SCREWED ON TIGHT."

Now I know that you thought you could. I do. But that was before you had your finger on the trigger wasn’t it? You see, now that you do, you’re worried about the consequences, where as I am not. That’s why your hands shaking and mines steady as a rock. Because you’re not like me; and you don’t wanna be.

"I promise I’ll keep my lips sealed tight. I know how the gossip train works, baby, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. —— Except, maybe, someone I hated.” She acts wounded, pouts at him instead. "I’ve got enough balls for the two of us, and the catch is that it’ll be fun to break you out and I’m all about fun these days. So, for a shower and a good meal, what’ll it be? Shall I break you out? Or should I leave my lipstick on your cheek and hightail it out of here.”

"Glad that you and Richie never argued then, aren't I."

- and, tempting though it is, something twists wrong in his gut at the idea of taking a freebie from a vague contact. Something twists wronger at the idea of anyone but his brother striding into jail and breaking him out, but that's an instinct he'd be willing to consider ignoring if her initial offer weren't so fucking weird.

"Fun? Gonna have to pass, then. I've seen the error of my ways, the light of god, serve my time and repay my debt to society, yadda yadda. Wouldn't turn down a kiss from a pretty girl, though."

Richie can’t help but kick him back, frowning. Brothers, can’t live with them, don’t feel like shooting them. He just rolls his eyes and slouches forward, grimacing at the heat. Not like hunching forward will make it go away, but oh well.

"How little faith you have in me is depressing, you know. Like I’d really leave you there to rot. But here you are, so it don’t matter, does it?"

Eyes flash to Seth’s leg, before shifting back to the table in front of him. He almost feels a need to keep the conversation going, to remind himself that Seth is really here and that he’s not seeing things again. But he stays quiet, focusing on everything around him; hoping that’ll get rid of the nervous energy.

Toe tapping against Richie's thigh, shirt sticking to him in a slick of cheap fabric and cheaper aftershave, shitty mexican food oiling in his hands -  Seth Gecko squints his eyes against the empty shine of the morning sun, and smiles at the burning back of his brother's head.

"Got five years of rumors and doubts to exorcise. You'll have to excuse me if it takes more than an overdue break and a foreign breakfast to rekindle my faith."

Leaving the pause just long enough that he knows Richie will rear up to glare at him, he reaches out and tweaks his brother's nose like a smug twelve year old.

"Buying me another drink might, though. I'm fucking boiling alive here."

    Maybe he might have reacted sooner if he wasn’t caught off guard. Before he knows it, a grip is secured around his elbow, and there’s an unpleasant pop heard, bringing forth a wince while teeth grit together. He’s used to getting bruised and broken on all sorts of encounters, but it doesn’t make it any more bearable.

    All at once, he’s pressed against the wall of the alley, and an arm over his throat has suddenly made him realize that, wow, breathing is nice—he can only manage shallow breaths this way, and blue eyes are locked onto those of the stranger’s at the mention of a name. Gecko brothers—it doesn’t ring familiar, but he’s always uprooting and traveling before he can get any real news.

    Maybe his boldness can only get him into more trouble, and as that arm lets up, he coughs quietly. Rather than give him a name, Dmitri pauses, and it’s for a few, tense brief seconds.

           ”Why? I mean—why do you wanna get guns?”

Seth chuckles, the remnants of bruising on his face crinkling up yellow over sickly purple, pushing the light even farther out of his dark eyes. He retracts his grip, mindful of how this assault would look to an onlooker (that is: like an assault, and not two men in an alley having a friendly chat).

"You been living under a couple rocks, or have all the Gecko Brother legends just died down since I got my stupid ass thrown in jail? My boy and I, we're going somewhere really nice for a holiday, but we are most regrettably short on cash."

With a shrug, Seth spins around, deliberately leaving himself open to a punch for a few tauntingly short seconds before he's eye-to-eye with the kid again.

"Now, we'd like to be able to walk in and ask nicely, but people these days are pretty hostile to things like that. I'm thinking we could use a little protection. Think you can help me out?"

   ”Wow, really? Guess I’m worse at reading body language than I realized. Is that a lifestyle choice or are you just cripplingly shy.”

"You know, I've never thought about it. But your pointed response has unlocked my hardened criminal heart, and all my pent-up emotions are just gushing the hell out. I am shy, weird bug-eyed teenage girl. I am so shy. You stay here looking like an extra from Camelot, and I'll go find a therapist who can help fix me."

+ i would dearly love to do starters for new followers, but i don’t want them to go ignored. can you like this post if you’re the type of person to reply to follower greets?

"I heard something along those lines, actually, didn’t know if it was true or not. And I haven’t had the time to check up on it." She moves so that she’s leaning against the side of the table he’s on, fingers lingering on his wrists. Suggestion is the name of the game, always has been, and it is her favorite game; regardless of the players. "—-You could always come over for a shower, at the very least, you know."

"Don't. I don't wanna send more malicious fucking gossip to his door. If he's pulling something like that.... It's for a good reason. Long game boy, is our Richard. Not that any of these shit-for-brains can appreciate that - and not that I'm shocked outta my goddamn boots over that, neither. It's one of their like got me thrown in here, after all."

He flicks her arm lightly and smiles lightly up at her.

"Suggesting you came to break a one-time partner out on a whim? You've got balls, I'll give you that. What's the catch?"

"There’s no need to get so aggressive about it. It was an honest mistake. Look, you can have it back. No harm done."

"I'm inferring from that that you are the kind of person who gladly and happily lets strangers manhandle her shit. How about I take your phone and we test this one out?"

   ”I just wanted to know if I saw you on TV, I’m not really sure how it all went south so fast. I’m mostly blaming your aforementioned piss-poor attitude, though.”

"In case you have failed to pick up on my subtle and confusing signals, let me make this as clear as I can. I am not a man who is fond of being noticed, seen, observed, or fucking looked at in any way."

   ”Piss-poor attitude like that is why your acting career’s never going past hair commercials.”

"Christ, you really are out here alone, making conversation with anyone that walks past, huh? Your parents need to beat some common sense into you."

"—- To break your heart all over again? You’re so cute when you’re upset.” She leaned against the table he’s tapped, leaning forward, leaning in; smiling. Red tipped nails brush against his fingers like she’s known him for years. "Rockstar job was fun. So were you, so I came back to see how you were doing. How’s your head? And your collarbone, for that matter." 

"Been better, been worse. Richie's living in a hut in the swamp and he's forgotten how to throw knives, don't know if you heard. Assuming you did, if the gossip managed to get into this goddamn dump." 

He laughs, leans himself back in his chair where she can't reach anything but his wrists - remembering just enough of their high-speed friendship to know she won't be intimidated by the looming thug thing.

"Gotta tell you, you're managing to break my heart just by reminding me that there are places in this world with good showers and meals that aren't made entirely out of well-baked cardboard. Tell me that you can get coffee whenever you feel like and I'll be more cute than anything ever fucking was."

   [ what the fuck just happened ]

   [ what the FUCK just happened ]

"- you do have someone with you, right? They ain't let you slip out unattended?"