#tammieatl

[rviner]

@ofwrxth tammie / nora - fight night

-

"Think they'd ever let there be a free for all one of these days?" Tammie asked the open ended question as she squeezed back towards the ring and passed over a beer to Nora. "You know, just cut those ropes down and let everyone brawl? It'd be kinda fun." she shrugged, as her imagination ran slightly free. "Hm, maybe not. Someone would take it too far." Being protective over her little sister came in many forms, not just wanting to punch people who looked at her wrong. And Tammie wasn't stupid. Seeing Taner's name on that list made her ponder for a little while. Just because he stopped sniffing around her sister like a crazed dog didn't mean Nora suddenly would hate him. "They say Wolf always puts on a show though so we might be in for a treat but last time he fought he wasn't forty years old so. We'll see. Who you hoping for?"

[rviner]

"I swear to God if he's sellin' something, Nora. I'm gonna scream, hold on. It's like every time I get five minutes..." Tammie quickly tucked her phone into her pocket, grabbing a chatter with her sister when she noticed some tall-ass long-legged sales-boy coming to her door. If Kenzie hadn't been a fairy godmother and taught all the new moms of Center Hill to keep things loud when the babies nap, she would've tore this kid's face off for disturbing Faith's sleep. She got to the door before he could knock, swinging it open. "Just give flyers." she snapped, but her head wobbled slightly at his strange statement. "I'm not, no. Last time I checked." she uttered quietly and slowed her roll on the snippy attitude, giving him a suspicious once over. Looked like Kat's kids. "You okay?" Tammie asked at first, her new found motherly instincts suddenly making it easier for her to soften and she didn't particularly like it. "Someone do something? Where they at? You new here? Lost?"

+ TAMMIE / CENTER HILL TRAILER PARK

Okay. Cool. Take two. He can do this. It won't be as bad as the first time now that he knows his dad has a brother. What were the chances? Okay. Cool. Stay calm. Just like you rehearsed. He clears his throat, knocking on the door of the address Hunter? had given him as he repeats his words from earlier, mentally cleaning them up a little. This was the real deal. His actual dad. The number Hunter gave is like a beacon in his phone but this seems like in-person news to deliver as much as he'd have preferred to just send a text. You my dad? But no. He was gonna do it right. Man up. Say the facts. That's it. My name's Mason and my mom gave me your name and said you might still be kicking around Center Hill. And I think I'm your son? Mason frowns. It doesn't sound great on second thought. He rakes a hand through his hear and nods to himself. My name's Mason and my mom's Emily Porter. She gave me your name and I think you're my dad. Or maybe, she gave me your name because I'm your son. Mason exhales, nodding to himself. That's better. Take two. Take fucking two. And he's about ready to spit it all out when the door opens and he freezes. Well...she's not his dad. "You're not a guy." Obviously. Mason shakes his head. "I mean. Hi. Hey. Hello." @blackheartatl

[rviner]

@ofwrxth tammie / nora

-

"You got work tonight?" Tammie asked as she slid to the door frame of her sister's room. Living together was a breeze, in all honesty. While most sisters squabbled over nonsense, the Jones' dynamic was air tight. Plus, Tammie needed all the help she could get when it came to money. The shop was busy but it wasn't a pipeline to becoming a millionaire. "'Cause I was figuring we could go see what's at The Phoenix or something?" She added, taking a few small steps through the threshhold until she could eventually get comfortable at the end of her sister's bed. The choice of the Phoenix was because a certain Sullivan was going to be there. A coincidence she'd say, and refuse to call it anything else. "Maybe see if JJ and Crick can get dad to watch the boys? Make it a thing?"

[rviner]

@waterfallswords tammie x cricket - cricket and jj's home

-

"Crick, I love you and these boys but that felt like the longest afternoon of my life." Tammie sighed as Cricket's door was opened and she stood there on the small porch, Faith in arms as Jax and Caleb ran into their home with excited laughter. It was only fair for them to watch each other's kids, it's what family did after all, and Cricket helped plenty of times with Faith. "I don't know why you keep sayin' yes to watching her, Cricket. How the hell you do it?" Tammie laughed, not quite inviting herself in because she had better manners than her oaf of an older brother. "You get everything done you needed to?"

[rviner]

"That's not the problem! You don't even fucking listen, oh my God." There was a long groan of frustration where for a moment, Tammie tried to make sense of the argument. Or any of them for that matter. They'd point and pick away at one another, splitting ends to try and shift blame. You said this, you said that and at the end of the day they were never any closer to figuring it out. "I bitch at you? I bitch at you? You know damn well this is nowhere near me being a bitch. Sorry that one of us has to be the sensible one." She scoffed, and only a Cross would think a woman trying to nudge them onto a clearer path meant they were being bitched at. Tammie laughed with a sardonic hum, in pretend agreement to Ryan's stance. "Right of course, it's just about you." she glanced from the road to him briefly, eyes back again as she took notice of a red light for the first time during their journey.

Embarrassment hit her quicker than she knew what to do with, the reminder that she loved him being waved in her face by the fact he knew the date without hesitation but her hands gripped the wheel tighter for another reason. There weren't many texts to Beau and the few that used to exist were long since deleted, but Ryan staring into an empty abyss of nothing was probably worse. She anticipated to see him flick there, watching him from the corner of her eye as the light changed to green and they were moving again. This time at a reasonable speed. Sighing as Ryan simply dropped the phone away, she said nothing in response until her tongue clicked at his comment. "You think I don't know it's stupid? We've always been stupid." she huffed, much quieter and with less sharpness. "I wasn't waiting for a god damn excuse, Jesus Christ. I'm pissed off that we were even in this situation to begin with." Tammie explained, turning into good ol' Center Hill and heaving out a long and overdue stress-relieving sigh. She didn't say another word until they were in their driveway, scooping up her phone and exiting the truck quickly and with the infamous Jones' slam of the door. "I should see if Cricket wants us to go get Faith from her, she's probably gonna want to talk to JJ's dumbass when he gets home."

★・・・・・・★

"What!?" Ryan snapped quickly, his mouth falling slightly open as if he was about to speak but all he could do was fail over his own words. "You're on my fucking ass about anything, Tammie. Me getting you out of there is a problem!? Just say thank you." He tutted then, lowering his voice after hearing himself. "Don't even need any thanks, I'd do it anyways but just stop bitching all the time. She's gonna be fine." Ryan had always respected Tammie's family values, it was one of the first things that made him realize she was going to mean more to him than he knew was possible. Their shared loss of a mother, while different in memories and time, grounded them and Tammie's fierce protectiveness was admirable. There were so many things that made sense until there were so many moments like this one, raised voices for no reason. No way of knowing what was up or down.

"I never said I was." he returned sharply, voices overlapping and meeting within a crescendo again. "I don't care that you get pissed off, just why the fuck is it always at me? What the hell did I even do?" he bellowed to try and drown her out, but their other shared trait was stubbornness. Ryan breathed out quickly to try and dispel the stress from his lungs but all it seemed to do was sit right alongside them. He fell into silence at the same time she did, head dropping as he focused on her phone and he immediately knew the date to tap in. "Yeah, I got it." he mumbled, and the stress was replaced by a different kind of tension. A small reminder of the things that made sense. Then, he was met with a picture of himself with Faith as the wallpaper. So, she loved him? Then, why? Ryan quickly found the messages, resisting temptation to scroll further back than the group chat he actually needed. The message was sent promptly, and Ryan sighed as he locked the phone and dropped it to the console. If there was anything, it'd have to wait. They could continue existing in the pretense they created, it was easier than tearing right through it and losing everything. "We gotta stop this." Ryan spoke evenly for the first time, voice feeling rough from coarse yells but above all else, he was exhausted. "It's stupid, first time out in months. It's like you were just fucking waiting for an excuse, Tammie."

[rviner]

Tammie wasn't very good at keeping her mouth shut. It was more common to find her interjecting before she even heard the other person finish, not caring if she ran before she walked into assumptions. In that moment, however, all she could do was listen to Beau. It was rare to see him be anything but a grump which would have been amusing if the words he said weren't prickling at her skin. Not exactly in a bad way either. They made her think about the time she put into the relationship with Ryan, and how long she'd spent trying to ignore the small flicker of emotions she noticed about Beau over the years too. She had pushed all of them away, ignored them. She felt too guilty but Beau had tore the lid right off that within moments. Her mouth had straightened into a line, not quite a scowl but it was getting there. Once he was done, there was a moment of silence that felt uncomfortably longer than it was. Tammie blinked but her expression was still sharpened at him. "Well, thanks, Beau. You know you should get into motivational speeches. Every girl wants to hear about how their fiance's best friend wants 'em after their fiance just fucking hit 'em." she didn't mean for the words to cut so quickly but she was closing off and hiding away. Another thing she did best. "If you hadn't noticed...Now's not the fucking time." The truth of that pained her. Really, what she wanted to say was why didn't you say anything sooner? I felt the same way. "I can get the walls by myself. I think it's best we don't talk for a while. Go, please."

"You think I feel sorry for you?" Tammie's words have caught Beau off guard and his question sounds sardonic instead of the actual disbelief he's feeling about how blind one woman can be. All the nights Beau has spent, making sure she got home okay after a spat with Ryan saw him leaving a bar without her. The fact he's standing right here, Ryan gone again, and she still seems to think it's because he has nothing better to do. He laughs slightly, not from humor but almost from shock. "I don't feel sorry for you, I'm...angry for you." he admits with a quick stammer, voice raising but not to her. Never to her. "I'm angry that for some reason you seem to think that Ryan is the best you can do and come on, Tammie. Everyone's seen it, when you walk into any place, literally every head turns and this isn't even just because I'm trying to be shallow right now. You're just...you're on a whole other level to that fuckhead and you don't see it? I don't even..." He doesn't believe for one second Tammie thinks Ryan is what she's destined for. "Ryan hates that out of you or him, he knows everyone thinks you're better than him. It's a damn running joke for Christ sake, first thing I said to him when you dated was how he managed to convince you to go on one. And I don't even care if me saying this pisses you off some more, you can put a few extra holes in the wall if you want to. Back when he asked you out, I was going to. He beat me to it so there you go. I don't feel sorry for you, I'm pissed off because he had a chance I wanted and this is what he's done with it."

[rviner]

"You text him, I'm trying to work." Tammie shrugged, gesturing to the car that her brother had encroached on. She sighed when JJ mentioned her snippy attitude but Tammie thought she was actually pretty cheery today, or she was until Jackson wanted to push his big nose into her choices. "The only way I'm cracking is under the pressure of you thinking you own the place." she sniffed, climbing back into the car to take a look at what else could be wrong. "What? No." she scoffed at the accusation, peeping her head out to stare back at him. "Why would you being annoying have anything to do with either of them?"

"text him, right now. see where he's at." jj demands quickly, waving a pointing finger over tammie for her to get her phone. he's calling her bluff quite clearly because he believes their father trusts him the most with the shop. jackson rolls his eyes at the sarcasm and then raises both his hands in surrender, backing away to enjoy his cigarette in peace. "fuck anyone who tries to help am i right? jesus, tams. that chip on your shoulder is getting uglier. soon you're gonna crack." he laughs but he means it too, his sister's grouchy atmosphere is no fun to be around especially when she snaps and bites like an angry dog. "this about beau? or ry been texting you again? i swear to god if it's ryan i'm gonna snap your neck." said with love, of course.

[rviner]

"Oh please, Benjamin. This had nothing to do with Noah and I know it. The boy is an actual charming gentleman, no thanks to you." she scoffed haughtily. At least the nephew had always been to Connie, she had no bad words to say about him actually. She wasn't convinced, however, then Ben took any of her passions seriously except when she took up tennis he did have quite a lot of serious involvement in the skirts. "Can you imagine if I made you give away..." she thought for a moment about something he liked, an obvious pause where there should have been common knowledge. "I don't know, your cars." she huffed, crossing her arms and not liking the painful clear truth that weren't well suited for one another. Slowly, her eyes followed Ben's gaze as she noticed where he was staring and to test him she tugged slightly at her dress so it lowered a mere centimeter. Then she puffed out her chest subtly. "Are you even listening to me? Jesus, it's like you're still mentally in puberty or something."

It was obvious that Ben was nowhere near maturing because whenever Connie's fiesty side showed up, a small and rather boyish smirk would twitch at his lips. He'd quickly cough it away though, pretending to be firm and in charge. "What do you want me to do, break the poor kid's heart?" he shrugged, laughing slightly. He knew she'd pick up on his splutter but Ben was passionately shaking his head, raising his free hand to her shoulder gently. "No, no. Of course not, I just meant it shouldn't be like work you know? This is your hobby. A valid one." Oh yeah, that was good. He had a smug grin then. Not to mention whenever Connie's passionate hand gestures came into play, there was a beautiful recoil among her chest that his eyes were drawn to. He nodded, until he realized what he was agreeing to while distracted. "Sorry what? You can't just retract donations, Connie. Not on the same damn night, too. People will think we're selfish." He was sure people already knew that. "We're not there already? Connie, we'll get you some more there must be Dior everywhere. It's not like the company's about to go bust any time soon and if it is, why the hell are you investing?"

[rviner]

"How do you accidentally hit someone with a wrench and be surprised that it knocks them out cold?" Tammie yelled through a harsh whisper because sometimes she couldn't believe Elijah's stupidity. It was as if somebody compacted all of JJ's chaotic energy and added a banana peel for it to slip up on every single time. "Coulda just punched him, Eli. Kinda does the same thing but less dramatic." she added because she had no issue with Jimmy getting what was coming for him. She watched in disbelief for a moment as her baby brother made his exit and she gestured to the not so subtle reason why she wanted him to stay. "You expect me to lump this lump around without any help? Get back here." she pointed, clearly wondering if Eli had been hit in the head with something too. "Okay well, you're not exactly hot with any ideas right now. So, it's the best we got. Let's get him to my truck."

;

"Really? He'll freak out? He'll freak out, Tammie? Will he?" Elijah's eyes widened as he goaded his sister, from stress and not mocking. "I'm kinda more worried about the fact that when Jimmy wakes up, this is gonna be yet another thing I did accidentally that I shouldn't have." While their brother JJ caused chaos on purpose, Elijah's always seemed to be the wrong place at the wrong time. He laughed slightly at the way Tammie always could point out the damn obvious but it wasn't like them to ever lock horns. Actually, Elijah found himself listening to a lot of what Tammie said and doing whatever she said too. So, when he was ordered to go Nora, he dropped the bloodied wrench and headed to the doors. His walk didn't last long because then she was directing him to Jimmy's feet. "Which one!? Nora or Jimmy!?" he asked erratically, gesturing with desperation for some kind of answer. "That's your idea? He's gonna wake up and just come back over."

[rviner]

"You are a dick but I'm not mad." Tammie laughed with slight embarrassment for her watering eyes, scoffing out her chuckle to stop her wobbling voice as Ryan neared her and Faith. She welcomed the affection with a sad smile, leaning into the embrace and glancing up to him. "I mean it, I'm not sad or mad." she added, unconvincing but it was the best she could do when anything to do with her mother brought out aching nostalgia, always reminding her that Ava Jones now only existed in memories. Her hand moved up to cup against Ryan's jaw, giving a loving little shake and then pat. "You don't have to. It was old and me and Nora stopped even takin' any notice of it eventually anyways." And that was sad too, growing up around memories and forgetting how much they could mean- or not realizing what they meant until reminded. Tammie eyed Ryan closely with a soft but appreciating smile for the comfort he could show easily but then she laughed about the music, rolling her eyes and sniffing loudly to push away the dullness she had been dropped into. "Just so you can do that annoying ass impression' of him?" she chuckled, prodding Ryan's chest as she grinned in return. "Actually," her head tilted and she mumbled the admission in slight reluctance. "It probably would make me feel a lil better, just a little bit." she muttered, before stepping away and placing her hand to Faith's back. "Faith likes him too, her legs go crazy." Which meant crawling was on the horizon. "God, we need to baby proof shit next."

★・・・・・・★

"Honestly, I think it's from Wolf doin' all those weird ass accents when he read us shit." Ryan's laughter was almost a howl and he wished, God he really wished, the world could see them when they were like this. For all of the opinions that existed about them, even if they were true, Ryan wished they could peer a little closer and see the constant laughter. The reach of hands or hanging onto one other by a hooked finger in a busy bar, the belly laughter that erupted sometimes from just a look. And this wasn't even them at their best, it was only a quick ghost of their old selves. He needed them back, unable to know how to resurrect them but hanging onto the ghost of them with hooked finger and hoping, praying, to not feel it slip. But it did, the shatter of memories his dumbass managed to bulldoze through and the sound of their daughter's scared noise brought Ryan back to reality quickly. His eyes scanned over Tammie's features, hearing the change in her tone and following behind her towards Faith. "Hey, hey. Stop. You can be mad." he nodded, embracing both girls at once while bringing Tammie closer to him. "You can call me a dick. I'm sorry." Ryan knew what it meant, while he didn't have cherished things from his own mother and even if he did they would be tarnished with memories overshadowed by Jeff instead. But, all those late night talks with Tammie, hearing her talk about Ava stood for something. "I promise, Tams. Look." Ryan's hand brushed against her hair, trying to offer a smile as his other guided against her chin gently to make her peer up to him. "I'll fix it, I know it won't be the same but I got it. Swear down. I'm sorry, you can even cry if you wanna." the grin cracked then, his thumb grazing gently against the of the corner of her eye. "You wanna listen to that country frat mullet boy you like? Worgan Mallen or whatever, that asshole?"

[rviner]

Giving in doesn't run through Jones blood, even less so when it comes to one another. The thoughts of JJ and Nora also trapped, or injured...or worse. It's a quick spiral for Tammie while Ryan's words only work her up further. Her breath shallows, eyes fixed to the door as if she could will it to open with her own thoughts. Then she's scanning the room again, desperate for something that could help them. The tiny slice of rationality tells her to listen, that endangering their lives is hardly much use to anybody. But, it's a small nagging voice in comparison to her worry. Tammie draws in a jagged breath, filling her lungs before exhaling a stressed sigh. "I ain't just sittin' here and doing nothing, Ryan!" she's too weak to yell properly but her voice cracks with all the strength of a shout, even if she takes in another breath to calm herself. It doesn't do too much. "If we had just got the hell outta that damn hotel, but no. You had to do the shit you always do and wanna talk. If we acted sooner when I said, this wouldn'ta happened." it's a bold accusation and not one she truly believes, but right now it's all she has. "Whole reason why you wanted to come on a run with me, right? To talk about that. I ain't stupid, Ryan."

★・・・・・・★

It feels as if he's reading a multitude of emotions at once, all written over Tammie's face. He can hear her heartbeat pick up, sense the sharp edges of everything going through her mind. "Yeah we do, but not yet." he says firmly, brows furrowing because Tammie is as impulsive as they come. Even if she refuses to ever believe it. Inaction is hardly Ryan's strength either. Despite the weakness taking hold of his body, his heavy lids and drumming head, he's still a restless Cross. But for the first time, possibly ever in his life, Ryan can see a clear consequence for anything he may do. A consequence he doesn't want to risk. "Tammie. Listen to me." he doesn't lift his voice into a shout, but the concern is still carrying his tone. He doesn't move in time to stop her but he's fast enough to catch the fall, bringing arms around her tightly both for comfort but also restraint. "I know you don't wanna listen to me, but this is the first and last time you gotta. Alright? Anythin' I say when we get outta here, you can ignore. I'm-" he huffs out with stress. "Please, Tammie. I ain't even the beggin' type but right now I am."

[rviner]

"I'm only nervous he's gonna lose more brain cells and he hasn't got enough to begin with." Tammie chuckled, but didn't look to see who had joined beside her. She knew. It was as if Beau was trying to make her life difficult. Not even sometimes, all the time. And guilt ate at her and then she'd feel justified because Ryan was Ryan but then she'd feel guilty all over again. "Let's hope he can take the win, huh? But at least he doesn't lose whenever he's against Hunter, that's something." she laughed and finally looked at him, taking the beer with a small thanks. Of course he had to mention Ryan, making Tammie shrug because there had been another argument, of course. "Cricket's got her. He's around." she gestured with her beer to the crowd and cleared her throat. Just leave me alone.

closed starter, abandoned barn beau and tammie @blackheartatl

.

They're not exactly not on speaking terms. The bright sign above Tammie and Beau's head is always flickering on and off from it's complicated to...it's less complicated. He's not seen Ryan yet which means it might be safe to say hello. He's never sure if he'll be greeted by Tammie's more sociable side or if he'll get his head bitten off before he even takes a breath. Still, he approaches until he's stood side by side and his arm brushes against hers. "You nervous for him?" he asks, glancing to her quickly and then looking ahead to the ring while Hunter and Tammie's brother prepare. "I think he's gonna be fine, I mean, it's JJ. Probably gonna end up knocking each other out like last time." he grins and passes over a beer he's brought for her. "Is er...Ryan with little Faith or?" Does he need to expect to see the Cross tonight? He's hopeful not, as always.

[rviner]

Tammie's hand raised to her face, finger and thumb pinching against the bridge of her nose as she listened to Beau and wasn't given much of a choice otherwise. It wasn't dropped away until the mention of the aftermath he witnessed and Tammie scoffed loudly in prediction because it seemed an easy thing to judge Ryan by. At least for Beau. "Okay yeah, you said it back then too. I heard you." she dismissed it quickly. It was worst they had ever been and while fighting those reminders, Tammie had to blink slowly with raised brows at Beau's words. A truth she had been suspicious of for some time but not having much right any more. It pushed her straight into a silence that she couldn't break until a few moments later, glaring at Beau. She had tossed and turned over the fact people thought her and Ryan weren't good for one another. She thought it sometimes too, but she never felt it. "Well, thanks for the raw fucking honesty. What are you actually trying to do, Beau? Are you tryna throw a grenade into my family with all of this? He..." she gestured towards the stroller, referring to how Ryan was doing everything for their daughter. "I know he knows, he has to, he's not stupid but he's chosen not to say a thing which actually we should be real thankful for. You should be, because he sure as hell ain't gonna rearrange my face." she pointed back to Beau, deflated by his question and frowning quickly. "That's an answer I owe to Ryan, not you. And, I think you already know it anyways."

He listens, despite knowing where Tammie's words will lead because it's always been the same. She jumps to Ryan's defense and Beau doesn't even blame her for it, he expects it and even he has done the same for many years. Ry's just got a lot of shit he has to deal with, he's always been like this, he drowns a little but he's a good guy under it all. "No." Beau hears the accusation and immediately tries to end it there, shaking his head to Tammie. "No, it's not like that at all. I...of course I'm sorry, Tammie. I didn't- listen." he struggles, for a beat and is cautious of anyone watching them. But, even when he takes a step backwards he can feel an annoyance flare within him. "You're not an asshole, Tammie. What he did...that wasn't right. People aren't supposed to do that." he points in gesture to her home which was more like a bomb site when he was last there. "No one knew if he was coming back, you're not..." his words can't even stop themselves but he wills to not raise his tone. "You're not an asshole, for christ sake. Do you really think you've been the only woman?" his words hiss, something akin to anger for the things Tammie's endured and Beau startles himself for a moment, but it's the truth. "I know of at least three for certain. When you were on breaks, I...the point is, you're not good for each other. That was the whole point I was trying to make. I...why the fuck did it happen if you didn't want it?"

[rviner]

"Bad shot?" Tammie scoffed, her free hand moving in a fist to quickly punch against Jackson's arm. "That time I almost got you and put a hole in the bookcase wasn't an accident, JJ. I missed on purpose." That was her side of the story and she was sticking to it. She laughed mockingly when her brother finally saw the milk, all thanks to her and she flicked the bottle with her finger. "You wasted both our time, not using your eyes." she quipped quickly between his words, predicting the end of his sentence before he even got there. "Oh, he's good. It's kinda cute seeing Ry being all...dad." she laughed just because she knew it'd annoy her brother but there were some truth to her words. "I like him, though. Kinda feels like he's always been around, you know? But, yeah. I heard he looks like a Cross-Jones which is great, everybody is gonna think I had a kid when I was like seven." she scoffed, backing towards Faith's nursery so they could get ready for the day. "Leaving you to deal...leaving you to deal with what, JJ? Your own children?" she snarked before rolling her eyes. "Jesus Christ, but yeah sure I'll stick around for the park too since you're fucking incapable." And obviously, the twins and their super sonic hearing heard the cuss word which they'd been told repeatedly not to use but did so anyways which made Tammie shrug at her brother before she disappeared. "Now look what you made happen."

jackson waves his hands in mock surrender, widening his eyes as he laughs. "oooh, scary. having to run away from your bad shot." he goads before squinting into the fridge and shaking his head at tammie's words. "stop talking like i'm an idiot, tamara. i know what a bottle of milk looks like and there's not one in here." he claims before shuffling to the side as tammie moves over. "ah. well, it blended into the back." he grumbles then when she produces the bottle all along and grabs it, lifting it in the air. "don't really need it now anyways if we're going to all star? just wasted both our time." jj sighs. "how's mase anyways? hunter said that he looked like you and ry had a son and i kinda see it." he asks but is laughing at anything that makes tammie seem older than she is. "heard that." jj points about her comment, not taking offence and instead watching his two boys chasing one another. "yeah sure, do whatever. but you're still coming to the park, right? not just making me pay for breakfast and then leaving me to deal with it all?"

[rviner]

"I thought I saw your truck, Wolf! How you been?" Tammie chimed to the older Cross with pleasant surprise as she breezed through the front door, setting down the bags she carried from the day spent with Nora. "I know it looks bad but half of this shit is for Faith- which means it's fine." she chuckled quickly to Ryan, ready to greet their daughter but noticing the strange set up of the high chair and the floundering Cross brothers surrounding it. Tammie's eyes quickly narrowed, flicking between Wolf and Ryan with a suspicious gaze. "Everything good?" she asked, pausing her steps as her hand moved to her hip because usually when there was more than one Cross around, there was some sort of trouble. She'd be inclined to say there was trouble when there was just one, but two...it was undeniable. "It ain't time for her to eat yet, what you doing?" she gestured with her other hand, mainly speaking to Ryan. @secrettyrant

Wolf sighs, nodding in understanding because while The Reapers offer many things such as safety and security there's a pledge they all make. You're in for life, and it's all well and good when you can coast through that pledge with your head above the water just enough but Ryan's drowning. Wolf's fingers tap his temple quickly and then wiggle as he moves them away. "You know what I'm sensing, Ry? You have a real block when it comes to talking about things, which is funny because you almost talk more than me. But, sometimes it's just talking for the sake of it with you." he points, as if in accusation to his younger brother. "Talk to Diego or Blaze first. See what they can offer. Talk to Tammie. We all have things from before that we have to solve, and if you want to make things work then you talk. And I mean talk, not hot air. Not promises, or dreams. Talk. This or that, how and why. The real stuff. Real, real, real." he stands to his feet, prodding Ryan's shoulder in time with his words. He smiles to Faith warmly, looking between the loving gaze between father and daughter and he claps Ryan on the back. "Talk, properly with her. And then I bet you'd get a house full." he mutters, laughing slightly. Despite appreciating the conversation, Wolf doesn't appreciate the turn of it one little bit. He steals Faith from Ryan's arm in a snatch, rushing towards the high chair to begin setting her down. "No, I can't stand seeing women's heartbreak, Ryan. You know this. I can't even see it in movies. It's...it's horrible. I can't break her heart, and it's not even a small thing! It's a mother's heart now! No. I'm lying to her. Get the lemon. But you need to tell her about the job, this is different."

[rviner]

"How!? How can I act like something if I've not even fucking said I think it!?" Tammie stuttered slightly from the frustration, words no longer making sense to her as she could feel the annoyance rising into anger. It always happened so quickly, a disagreement about something turned into an argument about something else entirely but still, nothing ever seemed to be about anything. She grumbled reluctantly about Nora, shaking her head as her eyes were fixed on the road. "I don't fucking care, it was like a stampede back there. She coulda got hurt." she glanced to Ryan and her face said it all. Another chance for a breath had been ignored as Tammie erupted at the same time as him, shaking her head frantically at the insult.

"Oh okay- and you're a walk in the god damn park? Sorry that I'm not some little fucking robot-house-wife you can shut on and off and that I get fucking pissed about things!" she yelled at him, swatting his hand again. "Things I'm allowed to be pissed at, by the way!" Tammie reminded him, staring at disbelief for a moment at his childish response and ignoring her own childish contribution to their cute little car ride out of Brookwood Hills. "Oh come on, you know exactly what I meant. Stop being a dick." she warned him, with no real ire just pure exhaustion. It was only slightly satisfying when he slid in his seat but Tammie would have preferred to open up his door and kick him out, unfortunately going too fast for that to be possible. "Well, you're acting like I just sit at home and tickle my damn ass all day for Christ sake." she yelled again but it quietened quickly, almost cutting off completely. "It's the..." Tammie paused, getting frustrated again but this time thanks to embarrassment. "I already told you, it's the date we got engaged." she huffed, glancing to Ryan and feeling a sudden wave of stupidity. "I didn't get around to changing it-" Another huff. "Just shut up, I'm tryna drive."

★・・・・・・★

"You're fucking acting like it!" Ryan provoked, dismissing Tammie's worries quicker than she could even finish her sentence. "Nothing's gonna fuckin' happen to her, last person they're looking for is a five foot nothing girl." he breathed sharply, staring at Tammie with bitterness. Every time there was a small break in their exchange, Ryan would glance to the road but then his gaze was fixed back to her with a scowl. They always erupted like someone threw a match between them, or let them loose from their collars to fight it out with no end. In a sickening way, Ryan enjoyed it. Months of quiet squabbles just weren't cutting it, hushing their rage because of little Faith. But tonight was hitting the spot, finally able to shout at their full volume. "You know what? Yeah, you're like a full time fucking job Tammie. Everything's always a fucking problem, all the time. You're fucking harder work than my damn shifts at the station." The yell was resentful, all of it building over the previous months and finally having a way out. "I look for bullshit?" he laughed sardonically, tapping the side of his own head for a moment. "Yeah, I fucking tapped into the universe and figured out the cops would show up so I knew to be here. Shut the fuck up." he then waved his hand harshly to her, watching the phone get thrown to his lap and grabbing it quickly. "You haven't told me shit, Tammie. I don't know it!" he retaliated quickly just as the the brakes were slammed and Ryan went skidding towards the dashboard with a small oof from his chest. Ryan begrudgingly pushed himself back into his seat, glancing over his shoulder and then to Tammie again. Her question made him flounder slightly, a frustrated stutter of his words as he clambered for some kind of rationality. "I don't fucking know, what kinda question is that!?" he breathed, finally taking it in his lungs fully through his nose. "Are you actually a brat on purpose or is being like this in your fucking blood or something? What's the damn code?" the demand came out quieter but with the two of them together and no reason to restrain, there was no way of knowing if it would erupt all over again.