#( int/ leo maxwell. )

[blcssom]

< @caeruleums> liked for a starter based on true story - eternal sunshine i'll play the villain if you need me to i know how this goes yeah i'll be the one you pay to see play the scene roll the cameras please

"oh, here we fucking go! please: enlighten me! explain to me me how this is all my fault."

[blcssom]

"under-appreciated as always." not by her, of course, but the last thing leo ever wants to do is drive a wedge between her and her friends so, reluctantly, he lets the issue drop. it's easy when she's given him such a promising distraction, honestly, and as she leans back into his hold, he lets his other hand wander down the plane of her stomach. "i've seen you getting ready on days when you're running late: you can beat your face in thirty seconds flat which means we have plenty of time." his fingers curl around her chest tighter as his other hand settles between her thighs. "tell me to stop and i will."

"your enthusiasm is very sweet," she emphasized, making sure he knew she appreciated his offer. "but we don't need a body guard... not even a super sweet and handsome one." a night apart would probably be for the best, for both of them. surely they couldn't stay in this blissful honeymoon stage forever, right? "mmhmm, i'm feeling generous tonight." her lips curled into an easy grin as she had no choice but to pause her efforts once again, instead setting her brush down and melting into his touch. "babe... i haven't even started my foundation..." which would've meant nothing to leo, but for esme it meant that she was running behind, even for her standards. still, she made no effort to resume her makeup, instead subtly shifting her hips back against him.

[blcssom]

closed starter for @angeldcgs ft. leo - 30 - he/him- firefighter based on: plot in source !

his instinct when he sees them getting dolled up is, initially, excitement but quickly sours to confusion when he checks his mental calendar for any pre=made plans. "you didn't tell me you were going out tonight." which isn't a requirement, but is unusual if only because they're attached at the hip more often than not. he slides into the bathroom behind them, arms winding around their waist. "can i come?"

[blcssom]

closed starter for @lvciddreamt based on this ! ( open to f/nb )

he can't even remember what they'd been fighting about before going on stage, and it's that magic that keeps them from imploding. unfortunately it doesn't last very long, and leo's eager to take advantage of the moment to get out of the doghouse. "you looked incredible up there tonight. seriously, you were fucking glowing."

[blcssom]

closed starter for @tcrnished + open f/nb based on: spotify starter call

i know better than to call you mine // i guess i'll just get out of line // too many others wasting their time // when will i know // you're too wrong to be right - delusion || michal leah

it's been ten minutes since he'd spotted them across the bar which, frankly, leo considers generous. finally making his approach, he leans in between them and the middle-aged asshole who'd taken the stool beside them, offering a disingenuous smile. "they're spoken for, chief. but, y'know, i heard there's a senior center across the street that hosts weekly singles nights.... that might be more your speed."

[blcssom]

"she's unreal." praise he offers with a doting trail of kisses along her jaw. he pulls back to meet her gaze as she asks to leave, the hint of a smile threatening to take over. "you wanna party, huh? and what does that entail exactly?"

“a rockstar, huh? she must be hot.” arms looped around his neck, settling a little too easily into the embrace. she could practically hear their bandmates’ eyes rolling but she couldn’t bring herself to care when she was riding this high. “for now,” magda hummed in assent, leaning against his taller frame and letting out a happy sigh. “okay, can we get out of here now? we’re too big to be stuck signing t-shirts all night, aren’t we?” it might be a little cocky, but she wasn’t wrong — their last album was a chart-topper, and the crowd really had been loving them. “let’s go back to our suite. i wanna party.”

[blcssom]

absolute menace. he shoots her a scolding glance over his shoulder before leo's attention returns to the older man... who's looking entirely too smug for his own good. "i'm telling you she's spoken for. you sure she's worth the ass-whopping you're about to get? 'cause there are a lot of pretty girls in this bar who don't have quite as many obstacles in their way." and just like that... the relent is slow and begrudging, but eventually he leaves the stool which leo promptly occupies. "what the fuck d'you think you're doing, lola?"

lola definitely spotted him from the second she walked in, and it feels like a familiar tug in her gut, but she's damned if she's going to act like it. she's really working this guy for reasons she can't quite put a finger on, but at least it offers a distraction from leo --- until he appears in front of her goddamn face. you didn't say you had a boyfriend. "i mean ---- i don't." her eyes light up. "i've never seen this guy before in my life."

[blcssom]

"i don't do all that shit because it scares people, har! and i don't think scaring someone shows that you care about them, in fact i think it shows the fucking opposite." there were always better outlets, better ways of expression oneself.... none of which leo has ever been particularly good at, but his mother had been excellent and, since her passing, it's the one trait he's tried his hardest to hold on to. "besides, we have been fucking screaming at each other, and yet i'm still here despite the fact that.... doesn't that show i care?" or maybe she was just too used to taking the punches to notice when someone withstood her own. as his free hand rose to cup the sharp curve of his jaw, the frustration continued to subside. "you wanna..... hose yourself down to make it up to me?" he couldn't help but break into a small laugh. "you really are fucking crazy." and yet, despite the harsh words, his tone couldn't relay anything but fondness for her and her antics. at least she wasn't the only crazy one in the relationship.

"no! i don't want you to hurt me! i just―i don't understand how someone can care and not... scream and yell and call me names. i don't know why you don't do that." she sounded frustrated, a little broken, but she didn't want him to think she expected him to beat her up. she was so used to yelling matches within her relationships that it felt abnormal to not be screaming at each other. isn't that what men do to the women they love? yell at them because they're so passionate about their love? she sighed, happy to have his hands on her in any way, and she was already pulling her phone up. "i can google how to clean a car. or, i can just grab a hose and spray myself, and you can imagine sexy saxophone music playing."

[blcssom]

"well it freaks me the fuck out when you keep trying to bait me into having a fucking meltdown! why do you WANT me to hurt you?? do you think i'm gonna, eventually??" she wouldn't have been the first girl to expect certain patterns from him. and he'd certainly seen the behavior enough in his life to have replicated it if that was what she really wanted. but hadn't he been trying? hadn't he proven that his emotions didn't come at the cost of her well-being? "oh, for fuck's sake, you think i want you to cook? you'd burn the place down." but it's a suggestion headed in the right direction. as the tension melted from his shoulders, they dropped down into a gentle slump as he freed one hand and slid it around the curve of her hip. "and i'm not sure you know the meaning of the word clean.... but the bikini is a nice touch."

"i know you wouldn't, which is why you freak me the fuck out, leo!" she snapped, the words falling from her lips faster than she could think them through. she wished that he would yell at her, she knew how to deal with that. she surely didn't know how to deal with someone who was as nice to her as he was. but she needed him around. was desperate for him to stay, after not being able to see him for a few days. she was clingy and wanted attention, but didn't seem to be getting it the normal way. "what if i... cooked?" the offer was probably scarier than staying there with her, but hartford was going to make sure she did anything to keep him around. "what if i clean this entire house? oooh or cleaned your truck? in my bikini?" the last was more of an offer that she knew she could do well.

[blcssom]

"i don't know how it's, like, part of my nature to be a dick." the culmination of four older brothers and a childhood spent in one of the most rundown neighborhoods in detroit had hardened him to a point beyond repair, but he did occasionally try to soften himself enough to understand her mindset.... not always successfully. "i don't wanna fuckin' yell, hart, and i would never do that other shit!" his brothers certainly would, but as their mother's dedicated caregiver, leo had developed a need to protect the women surrounding him. even when they drove him as crazy as she did. "and the fact that you'd rather have me burn your valentino than sleep at a friend's place is actually concerning." still, as her fingers wound around his, he found it increasingly difficult to pull away. "okay, well that would never happen because thinking about my ex makes my dick shrivel up faster than those ice baths my therapist insists are regulating my nervous system..... but i'll think about staying. maybe."

all she could do was roll her eyes, and she shrugged her shoulders. "i'm going to actually fucking try, okay? stop being a dick." which was an unfair request considering she was very much deserving of dick-ish behaviour. even still, considering who she was she was used to meaner partners. ones who screamed and yelled and called her names when she wasn't wanting to be called them. "can't you just, like, yell at me? and get it all out? i don't want you to go. i'd rather you, like, burn my clothes and spray paint 'whore' across my toyota than go 'stay at a friends'." she pouted, moving her hand down, holding his and playing with his hands. "seriously. i would rather watch you jerk off to your ex than have to spend a night without you. and that, like, is the worst thing i've ever thought of."

[blcssom]

"did i fucking stutter?" honestly, he welcomed the scowl. her anger was ten times easier to decipher more often than not. his own expression was.... tired, brows drawn in as she made a promise he wasn't sure she was capable of keeping. "i think it's pretty clear i don't like to share, but you shouldn't make a promise unless you really plan on keeping it, hart, that'll just piss me off more." but he let her close the space between them slowly, watching the way her fingers stretched out over his skin. "—— i dunno, hart. i guess we're fine. we will be, anyway.... but i'm still pissed off. i might go stay with a friend for a few nights." beat. "and my truck's worth ten, easily, but stop appraising my assets."

"did you just call me fucking unstable?" she questioned, the pout turning into more of a scorned look. as if she disagreed with the fact. she was probably the most unstable person in the world. either way, it was impossible for her to believe the man's compliments when she knew the real reason why anyone was with her. but it wasn't the time to argue with him, not when she was close to losing him. "i'm sorry, okay? i promise it won't happen again, now that i know when you don't like to share." she knew before. maybe she'd make more of an effort. or, tease him a little when she needed all of his attention. "you should probably start writing a will, because your truck is worth, like, five thousand at least." she tilted her head, moving forward once again to set a hand on his arm, coaxing him towards herself. "are we okay, baby?"

[blcssom]

"you're never planning anything, you just respond to whatever you feel in the moment. which is dangerous for someone as unstable as you, honestly." not that his primary concern right now is her safety but it's not not a concern. her ability to sniff out and thrust herself into trouble is unlike anything he's ever seen before. his gaze meets hers at the accusation, brows furrowed. "i wouldn't be. i'm not with you because you're psychotic, i'm with you because you're beautiful and funny and smart, which is how i know you're full of shit when you play innocent like this." he lets out an exasperated sigh, pushing his hair back from his forehead. "i'm with you because you drive me fucking crazy, but you could rein it in a little. unless you're aiming for me to have a heart attack at thirty-five, but you should know that i don't have any money to leave you. or a will, for that matter."

the fact that he called her how for something she was extremely aware of made her pause for a moment. hart couldn’t be self-reflective, or else she might have a total meltdown. spiraling over the fact that someone took the time to understand her, regardless of if she wanted him to or not. she pressed her lips together, and shrugged her shoulders. “i don’t know what you’re talking about. it was just, like, a rash decision. its not like i was planning it, or anything.” which proved his point, because these things did only happen when the two of them were getting stable. she had to rock the boat. “don’t act like you wouldn’t, like, be bored if i didn’t do this, babe. it’s what keeps this relationship so… lively.”

[blcssom]

"this thing? you mean you fucking someone else." he's not quite ready to let her slip that one under the rug. "it wasn't an apology, it was a bribe. but to bribe someone you have to offer something they want and not something you would want which is.... something i'm not sure you're capable of doing." considering the thoughts and feelings of others had been, in his experience, one of her shortcomings. not one offensive enough for him to write her off completely though, even if every instinct in his body tells him it should be. "you always do shit like this when things have been going well, y'know? that's actually the worst part."

he had a point. she pursed her lips, trying to figure out what else she could say that could be seen as a positive. and then he was pulling away and she frowned, watching his every move and calculating her own in the back of her mind. “i’m not blaming anything on you, baby,” she murmured, though she had tried to. but she’d ignore it. “i’m just giving an explanation! just because we’re different doesn’t mean you should get so upset. i was just trying to help you get over this thing you’re going on about.” she couldn’t admit to him that she liked that she was the only one he wanted. “i was trying to be nice, that was my way of apologizing.”

[blcssom]

"what the fuck do you care what they think of you?? you'd rather piss me off by fucking someone else?" brows furrowed, he tries to find a way to call out her deflecting in a way that won't have her reaching for a knife. "i don't WANT to fuck anyone else, and that's the difference between you and i." he pulls free of her grip, crossing over to the fridge so he can busy his hands with a beer. "if you wanna blame this all on me then.... whatever. but you don't get to act like i'd be okay doing the same, because i don't even wanna look at anyone but you, har."

"what if you were sleeping? or, like, doing some kind of job? plus, i feel like your little gang hates me at this point. why would i put myself in that position?" she pouted a bit and then squeezes him a little more. "i'm sorry, you're right, i am too impulsive. i just, like, can't help it. i have to do it for my mental health, y'know? but i should totally be taking your mental health into consideration." she paused for a moment and then smiled. "you can fuck someone else, if you want. and then we're even."

[blcssom]

"i know that, but sometimes the guy's a little more hesitant if he sees me hovering in the back!" which he'd happily do for any of her girlfriends if she were the one to ask. but he also respects her answer and, furthermore, his attention is easily drawn to her promise of a double reward. "ooh, both?? you know that's my favorite answer." his hand wandered up the front of her stomach, curling around one of her breasts possessively as he pressed another kiss to her neck. "you sure you don't have a little more time before you have to leave? maybe i could give you a treat of your own to carry you through the night.... we both know you're gonna need it to deal with the headache of wrangling her all night."

“we are perfectly capable of holding her back on our own! but if she really wants to do something, she’s gonna do it regardless…” all of her friends had the same strong personalities as esme, which often resulted in explosive arguments that could be plucked straight from an episode of real housewives. yet another reason why leo would have to stay behind that night; the group couldn’t handle yet another hard head added to the mix. luckily she could do her makeup on autopilot, because only half her attention was devoted to the task at hand, the other distracted by leo’s presence. “mmmmm,” lips pursed as she hummed softly, an attempt to stifle the grin that constantly threatened to form in his presence. “both.”

[blcssom]

""mm." he doesn't question her, but no one knows better than leo that esme has a long memory. not much 'slips her mind'. "that's exactly why you guys should let me come. someone needs to beat the creeps away from her when she gets like this." he's learned not to push too hard, though, lest they find themselves going head to head. two stubborn people could only keep the peace for so long unless one was willing to give a little. he leans into the feeling of her kiss against his cheek, moving to rest his chin on top of her head as she goes back to blending. "a treat, huh?" that rouses a smile, at least. "edible or sexual?"

“huh… must’ve slipped my mind.” for once in her life, esme was cursing herself for having a boyfriend who actually listened and paid attention to what she said. of course, she would’ve been much less smitten with him if he wasn’t the hyper attentive puppy dog he turned into while in her presence, but it would’ve made leaving him for the night much easier. she let out a soft sigh as his lips met the tender skin of her neck, pausing her meticulous blending and taking a moment to reconsider whether letting him tag along would really be that horrible. “no shit… but you know chanel, she’d rather date a psycho than be single for a week. i wouldn’t be surprised if she sniffs out her next placeholder tonight.” all the more reason why leo should be allowed to come, but she could already imagine the dirty looks she’d get if they showed up together. “sorry, babe… i’d bring you if i could.” to show her sympathy, esme craned her neck to the side and kissed his cheek before reluctantly returning to her eyeshadow. “mmm… probably late. you can if you want to! i might have a little treat for you if you do… we'll see.”