#because he'll use the espresso machine every day

[todaysromano]

08.21.2024

Today, Romano watched a beautiful sunset.

Arab.com link

[hopetorun]

"nights like these" for the meme!

before i dive into this, some notes: (1) this actually isn't something i would write because i do not feel like i have a read on one of the main characters or the vibes of the 2013-2022 florida panthers. (2) i'm so sorry if you personally aren't into this. (3) it got away from me so much of it is under a cut

anyway here is the story: it's september of 2022 in fort lauderdale, florida. florida panthers summer blockbuster acquisition matthew tkachuk is happy, and thriving, and ready to succeed in his new home, where he'll wear shorts and loafer mules 365 days a year. he has a great house that cost him basically his whole signing bonus and enough loved ones eager to visit that he'll never have to be banging around the giant house alone. he already has a sunburn.

there's only one small, small issue: he's 100% heartbroken.

(now for our purposes i don't think leon is the one who broke his heart. i think either johnny -- tragic unrequited love that johnny finally shut down? complicated relationship johnny broke off to flee to ohio? -- or just some guy he was dating who dumps him for some devastating reason that matthew handles with no grace at all internally and with perfect poise externally)

anyway, he's here now. new team. fresh start. he's going to make new friends and fill his life with rich new relationships and not miss what he used to have at all. one of those rich new relationships is going to be with his teammate and captain and definitely soon to be friend sasha barkov. he always wants to make friends but he's especially determined about this one.

what he doesn't know is that sasha is also heartbroken. his boyfriend? fwb? undefined something? jonny huby was up and traded with no warning and also dumped him. (see this is where i don't know enough about the vibes of the 2013-2022 florida panthers)

but sasha is friendly, and he clearly likes matthew, even if he's quiet and, matthew thinks, careful with his heart. but matthew's easy to like, you know? he's upbeat and thoughtful and generous and wants the people he's with to know he cares about them.

they get to know each other slowly, carefully, but still ... with maybe too much intensity. they do both have these major holes in their lives that they're looking for something to fill. late nights sharing a drink or a meal after the game that turn into really late nights, that sometimes turn into very early mornings. the season isn't going great, and they talk about that, but they also talk about their lives and their families and matthew's old team and what they think their current team could be, if they could get everyone healthy at the same time.

slowly, they start to spill about their past relationships, too. the nights don't get shorter. sometimes they crash at each other's places, just because it's easier. matthew likes not clattering around a big house by himself in the morning, likes the noise of sasha cursing under his breath at the fancy espresso machine taryn basically ordered him to buy and the soft murmur of the tv from the other room. it's what he wanted when he bought this big stupid house, to have someone (or many someones, a whole family) to fill it up with.

matthew is the main character of all star weekend, and he feels sasha watching him, and it feels like that has its own weight. every time he makes sasha laugh it feels heavier and more important and harder to think about too much. wanting things is how he got his heart broken in the first place. it's easier if he doesn't.

and then, of course, things start to go well and that makes it even more impossible to look directly at. he can't fuck this up now. can't rock the boat. but the thing between them, big and scary and intense and yet still easy, it's always easy, it felt like slotting into a place he was always meant to be from the beginning -- that thing, that doesn't go away.

matthew doesn't breathe a word of it until they finally lose. (conference final? cup final? is this concept i'm spinning on tumblr gonna get jossed in a month?) sasha comes over, maybe a day or two later, and they drink beers outside and nearly get caught by a thunderstorm and matthew kisses him while the rain beats against the windows and sasha doesn't sleep in the guest room that night

[izzysarchivedblogs]

OH.

Tony's reaction is perfect, somewhere between the lines of similar was to what he was hoping for him to respond with. The way his eyes go wide, bottom lip gaps open and he can see how a breath is caught, held in. Clint rubs his thumb over the wrist as he moves it away. HE HOPES HE DOES THAT AGAIN. As Clint would absolutely repeat the action.

It's teasing, exactly what they had agreed was all allowed. Tension, anticipation, PROMISE OF SOMETHING, but it's a hold with no release. They had to wait, but he could drop as many hints as he'd like to.

ASSHOLE. That has him smirking and his brain can't stop his mouth from saying, ❝ Aw, you like me! ❞ He'll take the title, and his mood may seem like a one-eighty and maybe it was, but they needed this. To be fair, Tony had said a lot in his responses that felt all too real, all to much like there was something genuine and honest. Something he'd like to hope explore.

❝ AND WHAT WOULD I BE DOING FOR THE SECOND OPTION? ❞ He asks all too coy about the fact that Tony admitted that Clint's little display was cause for a cold shower. He knew what that meant, but to say that Clint's own sex drive had been thinking about Tony would be a lie; it's been dead but Tony has definitely been the object to start to revive that. They shouldn't do that, both agreed they would be avoiding that, as to leave more room for Clint to focus his recovery.

❝ Don't you dare take away my true love, espresso machine. ❞

Clint only laugh when Tony finally retracts his hand than steps away from him, with a playful push, to start gathering what he thinks they need for making Clint's chocolate milk.

❝ I am an asshole, but there's a lot more FITTING things I could say. ❞ I FIGURED IT WAS YOUR WAY TO TELL ME TO GET MY EGO IN CHECK. Clint had several words he has used and would use if he was being an asshole, or needed to give Tony a reality check or check his ego. He's not going to say them now because this about flirting and saying something honest about Tony.

❝ NO ⸺⸻ You're Genius Superman, because you're smart, a dreamy hunk, and a hero. My hero. ❞ Now he knows that reading the comic books growing up that Tony could be compared to Batman and Bruce Wayne; rich and makes gadgets, a bit of an asshole. Tony was an asshole, but he is actually kind of dreamy, he flies, and now he is kind of a symbol of hope. He's the guy who lifts himself up and out, again and again. That's hope right there. At least to Clint.

He could argue there's a godlike thing about Superman, and Tony's always the teammate at risk of a god complex in his judgement. SEE THAT'S WHEN HE'D BE AN ASSHOLE AND CALL OUT TONY'S GOD EGO. Sure, Steve's maybe better fit for Superman, but this was Clint's perspective and fantasy. Along the simple fact that Superman and Tony fly; so that's where the connection started.

Sometimes he has meant that sarcastically, but in a much more endearing way than Tony had been thinking. IT'S ALL SAID LIKE A FLIRT, but there's some truth to that. GENIUS SUPERMAN.

Clint shrugs his shoulders, ❝ A little of column A, a little of column B. It's both, I've always liked it and it's a good craving replacement. ❞ He's okay right now, for the record, but there's quite hint that if Tony wanted to make sure to get chocolate milk stocked for the bad days than he knew a replacement; since Clint's not sure he's going to like mocktails. ❝ Use to be able to buy chocolate milks for a quarter the mini-mart near the the orphanage. I was always saving nickels so I could have one every dinner. ❞

Tony shivers and his breath catches. The breath on his wrist is worse than if Clint had just started kissing it. It's all anticipation and no release. He presses his thighs against the kitchen counter as his head goes all fuzzy for a moment. He has to brace. He wants to just go limp and give in to the thing that's building between them.

He tugs his hand away. "Asshole," he mutters. "You want a hot chocolate or for me to need a cold shower, 'cause it's one or the other. And don't think it'll mean you get coffee, cause I'll take that espresso machine with me."

He laughed and pushes Clint, snatching his hand away before he can grab it again.

Tony looked up and shook his head. "I always just figured it was you being an asshole. The way you're always calling Cap Methuselah. I figured it was your way to tell me to get my ego in check."

He shrugged. He never took anyone's complements at face value. He didn't even like it. He had gotten his AI to stop phrasing things as positive a long time ago because it felt strange having anyone compliment him, even if he'd programmed the thing complimenting him.

He pulled milk and whipped cream from the fridge and moved around the kitchen gathering up all the other things he might need, including spices, pans and whisks.

"Hey - is the chocolate milk a happy memory thing or just that you have the pallet of a small child and a sugar addiction?"