#( sorry mateo Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[rhysdasiorarchive]

It was probably wise not to mention the way his chest fluttered involuntarily as Mateo laid out the inevitable. Prior to Roland’s disappearing act, they’d been verging on inseparable. The vast majority of Rhys’ mornings had been spent waking up beside Roland. Even now, when certain emotions were still slightly raw, Rhys remained endeared to the vampire’s dedication to always being at his side as he woke. It was one of the things he’d found himself missing the most. When he was able to get a few hours of sleep these days, waking up to the cold silence of his own room was always a disappointing experience. “I’m just playing the field, Mateo. Let me enjoy it for a while. Things have been rough for the past few months. I deserve a little fun at least. Besides, watching him work for it will be entertaining. Doesn’t it bring you any joy to think of his efforts being shunned? I thought his disappointment might do something for you.”

Rhys knew what to expect when it came to asking for the thunderbird’s advice and yet he still found himself surprised by it when it was voiced. His expression shifted to one of instant disagreement and he paused to consider the effectiveness of Mateo’s suggestion before leaning across him to snatch his glass, downing the remaining wine as he carefully pushed himself to his feet, taking a moment to recentre himself and gently set the stolen glass on his desk. “And I will. Definitely will. After tonight, I’m keeping him at arm’s length.” Offering Mateo an unfortunately bright grin, Rhys turned to wander towards the door, only pausing once he was halfway out of the office, glancing over his shoulder at the thunderbird. “Oh– don’t worry about locking up or anything. Just make sure there’s a light left on when you go, yeah? You’re a star. Okay, love you, I’ll text you later, all that stuff–” and not a moment later, he made a beeline for Roland’s suite, tugging his phone from his pocket to listen to the piece uninterrupted, this time at a much lower volume for the sake of keeping his pride and dignity intact as he navigated the short distance. Once the suite was in sight, Rhys silenced and locked his phone, shoving it back into his pocket as he approached, taking a deep breath as he knocked gently against the doors. “Ro? You around?”

Mateo was too nice a friend to fake gagging as Rhys said Roland had 'a way about him' but it was a near thing. The wine made it seem like a much better idea. He nearly plugged his ears as Rhys went on and on about the vampire's apparent virtues and good qualities but instead just chugged more wine. Finally, when Rhys was finished, Mateo gave him a look. "Well you shouldn't be allowed to make your own decisions if they're dumbass ones like going back to him." He scoffed as Rhys kept going. "Yeah, and how long's that gonna last? You'll be back joined at the hip sooner rather than later, trust me. I know you. For months I had to listen to how gaga you were for him and you're already starting to talk like that again. You're hopeless." He shook his head, feeling like he'd already made all his very valid points but it still mostly felt like he was trying to get through to a brick wall.

"Saying I'm robbing you is an overstatement!" Mateo protested, laughingly, and somewhat feebly. They struggled but then the song played and it seemed like it was mostly over. Rhys looked as shocked as Mateo was, at least, and like he didn't quite know what to do with himself. The witch took his phone back, though, and Mateo leaned his head back against the desk again, sighing for what felt like the millionth time. He looked at Rhys again when he spoke. "Why would I want to mention it?" Obviously, Byron was an exception to this comment, because he would absolutely be telling the hellhound about this ridiculous grand gesture. At least Rhys was asking him how he should react, though Mateo doubted he'd follow the advice. "Ignore it. Or if you can't ignore it just be like 'nice thanks' and then forget about it. You said you're gonna keep him at arm's length, right? Here's your chance to prove it."