#the shine is a target actually. for slapping or smooching is up to you that why i make it so apparent vjlekajelk

[xxplastic-cubexx]

dare i say it but ur bald charles is so smackable. the way u draw his fuckass chrome dome w that shiny gleam on it gives me life. i’ve never wanted to slap anything the way i want to slap that bald head and it’s genuinely killing me that i can’t /pos

<3 ur art btw !!

i need to print this out and tape it to my wall for daily inspiration im so serious thank you so much....

i made his dome extra shiny for you anon

[vagrantblvrd]

Do you have any ideas for the most angsty path to the Battle Buddies getting to finally be happy together?

Oh my God, this, okay, this.

So, idk if this is the most angsty path for these idiots, but it’s up there for me.

I mean, we all know by now what a terrific liar Jeremy is by now. He’s proven time and time again to be absolutely gifted, one might say.

SO.

Let’s say Ryan’s been working for whatever agency for a while now. Seen it go from something close to noble to something as far from that as you can get. (Not that there’s anything like noble in their line of work though, so there’s that.)

It’s nothing like the movies where there’s a clear-cut knowing right from wrong and all that, no.

Just comprise after compromise and sometimes you gotta look the other way and you can’t save everyone. (Trying to just gets you dead, or worse and you don’t want to know what that worse is, so yeah.)

Anyway, Ryan’s been at it for a while and he’s a jaded bastard, cynical as hell but the part of him that signed up for this life once upon a time is still in there somewhere. (Wants to do good, and he does when he can, but he’s been slapped down for it more than once and plays things smart(ish) - for the most part - now.)

And in comes Jeremy with that shine of someone just out of an academy somewhere or whatever training stage that churns out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed do-gooders like him, right?Ryan is like SIGH when he finds out Jeremy’s going to be his rookie because he won’t be the first, you know?

Ryan’s had other rookies placed in his care, and one way or another they don’t last long.

Not like he’s hard on them or anything, pushes them to quit, he’s just.

It takes a particular mindset to deal with Ryan’s…quirks. (Eccentricities.)

Part of the reason they stick the rookies with him, because God knows if they can’t handle him they won’t last long anyway. (Gotta be able to handle the weird and unexpected and all-around disturbing among other things, and Ryan’s pretty great at those things.)

So in comes Jeremy, this bright spot, and Ryan is SIGH because he knows how this goes. Kid comes in wanting to do good in the world and then reality sets in and it ruins them. (One way or another.)

Only.

Turns out under that bright smile and friendliness Jeremy’s a weird fuck too. Doesn’t bat an eye when Ryan goes about being Ryan, will, in fact, upstage him in certain areas. (Has that smirk and look on his face and instead of being annoyed Ryan’s impressed and amused and a little intrigued by this little shit that’s been dumped on him.)

Takes a little while before they really get along, but the seeds for it are there (pretty much) from the beginning.

A few bumps in the road here and there, because for all that Ryan’s starting to like Jeremy he’s still this kid, right. Young and really kind of dumb to be in this line of work and it’s just easier to think of him like that in his head. That line of reasoning behind people not naming strays they find so they don’t get attached. (Ryan pretends that actually works, like he doesn’t have some crotchety cats sharing space with him at home, or that old mutt he picked up a few years ago.)

Anyway.

They get along swimmingly, cause a lot of chaos and responsible for a hell of a lot of property damage (in the field for the most part, but their HQ and training facilities should invest in sturdier equipment - if it can’t take one little explosion and resulting fire not their fault).

They become a headache for the agency in a way that doesn’t involve conspiracy theories and the whatnot because sheer chaos and destruction and general mayhem.

Then Ryan makes the mistake of getting a little too close to Jeremy because they get sent on highly stressful missions with the death-defying shit they do and high-stakes everything. Close calls and moment to contemplate their mortality in the aftermath. Hours spent waiting for a target to arrive and the hurry up and wait.

Time spent recuperating from injuries and just.

Thinking.

A lot of it, and anyway, sometimes shit happens.

They’re on a mission somewhere and stuck in an alley with enemies searching for a couple of assholes and no cover, if they fuck up they blow the mission and get dead and all that fun and exciting shit?

Ryan’s the one to back Jeremy up against the alley wall, but Jeremy’s the one to huff in fond exasperation when Ryan doesn’t follow up with that tried and true making out to throw their pursuers off act everyone knows and uses at some point.

Gives Ryan this crooked little smile and then there’s kiss? Holy shit, there’s kissing.

Not like.

Romantically driven or anything like that, just the sure would be nice to not die in a dirty alley tonight kind of way, but, uh. Ryan’s kind of losing the thread here because even though it’s not supposed to be that kind of kiss, Jeremy’s still really fucking good at the general kissing thing.

And Ryan, with the hands that didn’t know what they were supposed to do so they settled on Jeremy’s hips, he kind of goes off-script. Takes those hands and cradles Jeremy’s face because this is Jeremy he’s kissing and it’s nice and he’s kind of fucked here, but hey. Kissing.

Also, also, maybe this tiny part of him that’s always been a little -lol- competitive because he’s not too bad with the kissing either. (And, okay, it’s Jeremy and Ryan can’t not make this good for him too and wow, wow, that’s not a conscious thought but he won’t realize it until later, so)

The guys chasing them fall for the assholes making out in a an alley ploy and the moment the two of them are clear Jeremy pulls back - looks a little dazed, which Ryan feels a touch smug about. (Or would, if he, too, wasn’t feeling the same.)

But then, okay, then they have that okay, now what? moment post-emergency situation kiss where Ryan’s hands are being awkward again.

Just. Suddenly super aware of their location. (Either side of Jeremy’s face with the wide eyes and :O expression, which, admittedly is less :O! and more :O? as time passes, but whatever.)

Still awkward and also shortness of breath from the extended emergency kiss and just.

Wow, never though that would work, but movies, huh? Ha-ha-ha???

Jeremy snorting beause Jesus Christ, Ryan, why are you like this?

But also, “We should, uh. Pick that up later?” and !!! “TALK. Talk about it later. Yes. Totally what I meant.”

But Jeremy’s kind of avoiding eye contact and blushing and Ryan goes from !!! to *eyebrow raise* and mm~hmm the way he does when he’s being a smug bastard. So naturally Jeremy elbows him in the ribs because mission! Must mission then li - talk. Yes. “Talk”.

(Spoiler: They do talk? But mostly it’s like. Kissing and other such things that usually end with a fade to black for television rating’s sake and such.)

Anyway.

These idiots get their shit together and sometimes there’s a smooch or two of these Fond Looks™ on missions. The whole making out in an alley ploy gets used a hell of a lot more, and sometimes it’s even mission related, so that’s always a bonus. :D

But.

In the meantime the corrupt bastards running the agency have gotten worse, and get some of Ryan’s and Jeremy’s buddies killed. Fellow agents and long-time contacts - people Ryan’s known and trusted for years and it’s not like Ryan was turning a blind eye to what his agency became, just.

What the hell could he do about it? (Bitter and cynical and no idea how bad it was until Jeremy came along and that was the beginning of the end because he started to give a shit again, didn’t he.)

Looked into things and caught the attention of the wrong people and he knew it. Warned Jeremy best he could without giving too much away - eyes and ears everywhere and of course his place is bugged to hell and back. (Smarter to leave ‘em in place than tip whoever planted them there off.)

Sure bet the same is true for Jeremy’s place and just.

Paranoia ramped up like whoa and then there’s this mission, right.

Bitch of a thing that should require months of prep and planning and lead-up time. Best intel they can get and maybe Ryan asking his contacts to look into things on the side for him, all hush-hush and the like.

But they don’t get that.

What they get is a skimpy batch of intel - no telling how good any of it is, or sources or anything. Super short time-frame because supposedly this situation popped up overnight without anyone anticipating it and it just.

The whole thing reeks of a trap and Ryan’s just like fuck, because before the whole Jeremy Situation he would have been - not fine with it because wow no, just. A little less angry about it.

Because definitely a scheme by the baddies to get them (him) killed and never mind the collateral damage.

So.

Ryan tells Jeremy he’s got a bad feeling about it after the briefing and Jeremy’s like. He’s got the same feeling because he’s not an idiot, but he also doesn’t know their agency the way Ryan does.

Thinks Ryan’s just being paranoid or something like that and tells him they’ve been through worse, so no worries, right?

Ryan’s like oh, fuck again because now is not the time for this optimism bullshit, Jeremy, but he can’t exactly say that, so.

They go off on their mission and Ryan tries, he really does, to tell Jeremy about what he’s been doing RE conspiracy shit and baddies and all that, but something always interrupts.

It’s Jeremy being all “Sorry, what, I wasn’t listening,” because he was going over their intel one more time on the flight out and distracted and then someone sat next to them and not a great time talk about it.

They’re waiting for a contact to arrive and Jeremy notices what he thinks is someone following them so they have to deal with that instead, and so on until they get to the heart of the mission.

Stealth until it’s not, and then shooting and yelling and the requisite explostions —-> fire and just as Ryan thinks they’ve managed to survive the hell mission?

Shit’s on fire all around them and the target (along with a large chunk of their people) are dead and it’s just the two of them in what used to be a lavish home built on the backs of others and so forth.

Ryan turns to Jeremy, some stupid joke - a quip or a one-liner or something stupid like that on his lips - and Jeremy pulls a gun on him.

Aims it at Ryan’s chest and blank expression and, “You should have left things alone, Ryan,” and “I’ve got my orders,” and “Don’t” when Ryan takes a step towards him. (To ask why, or talk him down or reason with him, it doesn’t matter because Jeremy and Ryan and God, he should have known better. He did, but then Jeremy happened and Ryan fucked up.)

Ryan is like ??? and kind of hoping this is some terrible joke, but it’s not and Jeremy’s not smiling or laughing and just when he’s about to pull the trigger one of the baddies goons (late to the party and all) stumbles in and draws Jeremy’s attention - and a bullet - which gives Ryan the chance to blindside Jeremy.

Only not so much and there’s this knockdown no-holds barred fight. Ryan’s on the defensive at first because he doesn’t want to hurt Jeremy, doesn’t know what’s going on, but Jeremy’s clearly out for blood.

Wants to kill him, hurt him, and eventually that gets through to Ryan, sinks in that this isn’t some fucked up joke or like all the times they’ve sparred in the past, and he gets angry when he realizes it, fights back.

Because Jeremy’s being a bastard, letting loose with these comments and remarks, throwing everything Ryan thought they had in his face. Telling him he’s stupid for trusting Jeremy, should have known better.

Wasn’t he the one to tell Jeremy not to trust anyone in their line of work? That it would just get him a knife in the back sooner or later? That there are go good people left anymore? And so on, right on into things Ryan told him he hadn’t told anyone else and it stings, burns.

Plays dirty, to win, and this isn’t like all the times they’ve sparred in the past. Impersonal at first, because they didn’t know one another and Ryan was testing him and then it became fun, because they were friends (and then more) and sometimes there was totally unfair cheating with stolen kisses as distraction and getting pinned to the mat or a wall for more kisses and then the whole sparring thing got sidelined, but yeah, this is not one of those times.

This is Jeremy aiming for Ryan’s knees, his kidneys. Going for his fucking throat and this look in his eyes Ryan’s never seen and he reacts in kind.

They draw blood, break bones, go vicious and underhanded and Ryan gets the upper hand at some point. Stares into Jeremy’s eyes and how easy would it be to kill him right now?

So easy, just fucking kill him and walk away and lesson learned, but -

Jeremy’s just looking back, all battered and bruised and this thing like resignation in the back of his eyes and Ryan hesitates.

Just enough for Jeremy to turn the tables, grab his gun that Ryan knocked away at the beginning of the fight and comes back up with it leveled at Ryan’s chest.

Only this time Ryan’s got his gun out too and it’s a stalemate.

Ryan staring at Jeremy because what else can he do? He’s got his gun in his hand and no way he could miss at this range (the same is true for Jeremy too, but not the point) but he knows he can’t kill Jeremy.

(Too soft, weak. Stupid as hell.)

“Why?” he asks, but he never gets an answer because Jeremy shoots him.

Always a hell of a shot and, again, no chance he could miss at that range and Ryan goes down.

Not a killing shot, because body armor and Jeremy knows it, but it knocks the wind out of Ryan and he’s pretty sure he’s got fractured if not fully broken ribs and everything’s gone all…fucky. (Getting shot will do that to you, even if you’re wearing body armor. Also the fight beforehand isn’t helping because tired as hell and hurting and it’s been a really shitty day, hasn’t it.)

Jeremy walks over to him, looms, and Ryan’s just trying to breathe without blacking out. (Not doing a great job of it because ow, but hey. He’d rather go out looking Jeremy in the eye than not, you know?)

Jeremy clenches his jaw and Ryan dredges up a smirk, little, do it, you bastard to it because he doesn’t have the air to say it? But wow is he thinking it.

Just as Jeremy’s about to put another bullet in Ryan, make this one count, there’s a commotion.

The baddie’s backup, their backup, or local law enforcement (the place has been on fire for a while AND the whole things blowing up shit beforehand) who knows.

Whoever it is, Jeremy has to make his escape before they catch him and such.

(Throws one last look at Ryan before he does, though, and even though Ryan’s on his way to passing the fuck out he could almost swear there’s something like regret in it, but that’s probably wishful thinking on his part and the whatnot.)

Ryan ends up in a local hospital as a John Doe (or whatever they’re called now?) and ~sneaks out before the authorities can question him about recent events or Jeremy or someone else comes around to finish the job.

Learns he’s been declared dead, killed in the line of duty and what a shame, you know? He was a hell of an agent and a good man and they’re really laying it on thick.

Hides out for a while while his ribs heal and hesitant to reach out to his contacts because so many of them became Jeremy’s contacts too, and it’s just.

Not even paranoia at that point so much as playing it safe, or smart, or whatever.

Dreams up all these elaborate plans of Revenge and the whatnot against the agency and the baddies (Jeremy lumped in there too, although Ryan never really has a plan for him, just. You know. General revenge plans.)

Anyway.

Once his ribs heal and he’s had time to think about it and not just reacting, Ryan realizes he’s done with all that shit, you know?

Tired, broken, whatever and he takes what he had before the hell mission and Jeremy’s betrayal and dumps it on some journalist or whoever somewhere he knows will jump at the chance to get to the bottom of things.

Maybe it’s someone at an agency that’s still in it’s almost noble stage of life that will Do The Right Thing and break his old agency the way it deserves to be broken.

Not his problem anymore.

Gets his hands on some fake IDs and all that and pulls money from accounts he set up years ago in case he had to fake his death or go on the run because you never know when you’re going to need something like that.

Sets up  new life for himself somewhere.

====

If we’re going with FAHC AU that means the Vagabond rolls into town with the dumb mask - two birds one stone with the Intimidation Factor and hiding his identity.

He Vagabonds about for a while until the Fakes hire him for a job and he’s like. ??? because what even are these assholes? But against his better judgement he finds himself liking them more than he thought he would and just. All kinds of shenanigans all over the place. Also, so, so much regret on Geoff’s part as Ryan and Gavin team up to make his life miserable and Michael enables their shenanigans and Ray is like :D about it all. Jack is very much >:D because Geoff asked for this.

Somewhere in there Ryan keeps tabs on his old agency and feels this hollow sense of petty vindication when he hears it’s been broken wide open thanks to his help and some outside sources - no one can agree on who or how or whatever, but he’s glad to be done with all that. (Doesn’t want to think about it anymore.)

ANYWAY.

Things happen and they pick up this asshole for another job, Ryan’s heard about him from the others, right? This free-lancer they worked with a time or two before. No fashion-sense to speak of, according to Gavin, but always hilarious and the good kind of chaos. (Weird how very not reassuring that is? But okay, whatever.)

Thing is, it’s almost like this guy is avoiding him? Whenever he’s around the penthouse it seems Ryan always “just missed the guy”, or when they’re out on a job he’s sniping because Ray’s off God knows where for a job from a friend of a friend if not working for the Roosters.

(More and more these days and really, they all know he’s going to head off on his own one of these days, just waiting on Ray to come out and say it, and no hard feelings because these things happen, but keep in touch and give them a call if he needs help and so on.)

Ryan is like. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Figures the guys just not comfortable working with the Vagabond and doing it on purpose, which. Fine. So long as he’s where they need him to be and he doesn’t do anything to put the others at risk he can deal with that.

But then!

He’s on a job with this asshole as sniper and Gavin and Michael are also there and things fall apart, right? Turn to shit and there’s shooting and yelling and oh my God, Gavin, if you don’t shut up right now about that goddamn coin conversation again he’s going to kill you to save the assholes trying to kill them the trouble, okay? Now is not the time!

(Because they may or may not have been ~discussing coins and odds before things turned to shit and Gavin just rolls right on into the shootout still going on about the damn thing even with people trying to kill them and this isn’t funny, MIchael!!1!)

The sniper is just up there doing his thing, dropping baddies and opening up pathways for them with the killing the assholes in the way and all.

They get the hell out of there and regroup at a car Gavin tells them to head for. (He’s the only one still with his earpiece and a direct line to the sniper and anyway, Gavin seems to know where to go.)

Ryan’s going for the driver side door when Michael hip checks him right the fuck out of the way - “Are you fucking kidding me? The fuck out of here with your shitty driving!” - and shoves him towards the back passenger seat while he hops behind the wheel.

Gavin hops into the back with him and they peel out, Gavin giving MIchael directions to pick up their sniper while Ryan fires potshots at the assholes still chasing them.

A few terrifying moments later and they squeal to a stop a street or so over, and this asshole Ryan’s never met hops in. He gets a flash of color -purple and orange and yellow - and then they’re off again and it’s all chaos and mayhem and shooting some bastards when they make the mistake of getting too close.

Head to a safe house somewhere to hide out until they can figure out what the fuck went wrong, and Ryan finally, finally gets to meet the sniper.

Fucking freezes when he does, the guy slowly turning around after saying something to Gavin and oh, fuck, it’s goddamn Jeremy.

Ryan’s got his gun out and aimed at his his face without thinking about it, feels cold and disconnected and he’ll be damned if he lets Jeremy fuck with his family.

There’s some yellng from Michael and Gavin, and Gavin the little idiot getting between Ryan and Jeremy. Hands up andhey, c’mon, what are you doing Vagabond? We’re all friends here, aren’t we? And so on because Jeremy isn’t supposed to know who he is - no one but inner crew and a few select others know his name at this point - and Ryan’s so fucking on edge he can’t even, is about to yell at Gavin to get out of his way, Michael do something, he doesn’t know -

“Hey, Ryan,” and that’s Jeremy’s crooked little smile he gets sometimes Ryan remembers too damn clearly.

That soft little tone he used to get that’s like a knife in Ryan’s chest (he knows what it’s like, and this is worse because Jeremy and betrayal and what the fuck - )

“Jeremy,” Ryan says, nice and level and this threat behind it that has Gavin standing up straighter, losing that calming, soothing look to his face that has him turning to face Jeremy.

Backing up a step and to the side so he’s not in the line of fire and something eases in Ryan at seeing it. Realizing that whatever Gavin thinks, he’s trusting Ryan’s judgement over Jeremy’s, or.

Something.

(He knows the crew’s worked with the sniper - Jeremy - before, weirdly always when Ryan was out of town for reasons, but they haven’t known him as long as they have Ryan and it’s. He doesn’t know what it is, that Gavin is trusting things to Ryan at this point but it’s important.)

Michael, who’s off to the side in all this makes this irritated noise and drags Gavin back, keeps him behind the two of them and it’s just as reassuring for Ryan to know he’s trusting Ryan’s judgement on this too.

Makes that paranoid part of him that never quite got over the whole Jeremy Situation settle at knowing they’re on his side in this.

And then Jeremy sighs. Tells Ryan he knows he won’t believe him but there was a reason for the betrayal all those years ago.

Ryan’s not falling for it, but Jeremy just shrugs an keeps going. Tells Ryan about some assholes that approached him between missions, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Double agent kind of shit to help expose their agency - told him about the shit they were doing and how it would look if they went ahead without him, you know?

How Ryan and other agents who weren’t involved would be lumped in with the real baddies - following orders isn’t a good defense when it comes down to it - but if Jeremy helped them, maybe they could do something about that?

See to it Ryan didn’t go to jail (or worse), but to do it he’d have to pretend to be working for the baddies.

Let them think he was one of theirs, just as greedy and ambitious and he went along with it to protect Ryan when the “good guys” came along to destroy everything the baddies were working towards.

Did a lot of bad shit to get closer to the baddies and the people in charge, things he regrets even now, but they didn’t really trust him, did they.

Knew all about Jeremy and Ryan and so they decided to test his loyalty.

Arranged that last mission fo theirs and gave him an extra objective to kill Ryan for them if for some reason everything else on that mission didn’t.

And Jeremy, okay.

He goes to the “good guys” and tells them about it and gets no goddamned help from them because they don’t give a shit after all. Tell him not to blow this for them - if he does, Jeremy’s going to end up in jail (or worse) right with Ryan and the rest and he better remember that.

So Jeremy, okay.

No fucking clue what to do, only that if he fucks up here they’re screwed anyway and no way out for them he can see?

(Tries to tell Ryan, but he just. Can’t? Doesn’t know how and by the time he does, it’s too late.)

He never planned to kill Ryan was ready to let Ryan kill him, because Ryan’s always been smart. Would have found a way to survive, get out from under the thumb of their agency and start over somewhere else and just. Fuck, Jeremy was so fucking tired at that point?

Stress of all the secrets he was keeping and the things he’d done and just.

Would have been  relief, you know, if Ryan put a bullet in his head that day, to be honest.

But then the commotion and having to run and he tried to find Ryan afterwards but the fucker turned into a ghost. (Thought he might actually be dead for a while there, until he heard rumors about this guy in Los Santos and got curious enough to go looking, but that’s another story all on its own.)

Jeremy stuck around with the good guys and their Plans to destroy the agency long enough to see it through to the end. Angry and bitter and no satisfaction when it happened, because they’d taken too much from him by then.

(Felt this twinge of amusement when he heard they’d gotten a huge boost/help from some journalist and this pile of secrets someone dumped on them, and that was the start of this bit of hope Ryan might still be alive.)

He dropped off the grid for a while after that, did the whole new identity thing for a while and ended up on the other side of the law. Heard those rumors about the Vagabond and went looking, and somehow always seemed to just miss the guy, you know?

Ran into this sniper somewhere, became a backup sniper to the Fakes and enjoyed working for them more than any of the other assholes who’d hire him on for whatever needed doing.

Coasted along, had a damn good hunch the Vagabond everyone talked about as Ryan - too many coincidences for him not to be, really - and had no idea what to feel about the inevitability of them running into one another again some day.

(Bound to happen in a city like Los Santos, given their shitty luck and the fact they had ties to the same crew and just. Yeah.)

When it did, he kept finding reasons not to come face-to-face with Ryan for a long damn time. Did everything he could not to, because how the fuck could he hope to explain himself?

But then this latest situation and Jeremy providing cover for Ryan (so much like the old days) and the others and then the car chase and now this, and just.

Yeah.

He’s expecting a bullet in his head, or maybe Ryan’s going to draw it out, but.

Ryan’s staring at him - or it seems like he is. Hard to tell with the damn mask, and.

Just.

Ryan, okay.

Staring at Jeremy and that scar along his chin he gave him back in that fight way back when. Barely noticeable with the beard Jerremy’s got now, but there’s this little break in the beard where the scar runs. Wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t looking for it kind of thing.

A few others, all healed up by no (it’s been years, better hope they would be) and Ryan just feels.

Fuck if he knows, just.

Gavin and Michael, hell, everyone seems(ed) to trust Jeremy before this, but so did Ryan and look how that turned out.

But.

Ryan’s always been an idiot, especially when it comes to Jeremy.

(Too soft, weak. Stupid as hell.) 

“Why?” he asks, even though Jeremy’s just told him, them, because.

He asked way back when, heart cracked right down the middle and bleeding out and Jeremy staring at him like he was a stranger. (A target and nothing personal, but I’ve got my orders.)

Jeremy could take the easy answer here, say it was to protect Ryan, but was it, really? (Yes, but also no, and no easy answer at all.)

“I thought I was doing the right thing,” Jeremy says, because Ryan always told him there was no such thing for people like them.

(For anyone, really. There’s always more than one side to a story and someone’s hero is someone’s villain and all of that convoluted shit and just. Yeah, no fun at parties.)

Ryan snorts, because it sounds like Jeremy really thought he was, at the time.

(Younger and stupider and. Something to protect, even if Ryan’s having a hard time believing it after everything. Wants to, though, so fucking bad because after everything he still loves Jeremy in a way.)

“If you hurt them, I’ll kill you,” he says, completely serious and no give to it because Ryan’s stupid and weak, sure, to be giving Jeremy a second chance now but.

There’s Gavin and Michael and the others. There’s Jeremy looking wrecked by everything he’s just told Ryan (them) and letting him make the call on whether or not to kill him like whatever Ryan decides is fine with him, and just.

He can’t bring himself to kill Jeremy on his own behalf, but if he so much as indicates he’s going to put the others at risk he’ll do it.

And then, you know.

Long awkward time of them learning to work together since Ray ends up leaving not long afterward and they need someone to fill his position.

There’s A Talk with Geoff about it, but Ryan is just. He doesn’t mind, so long as Jeremy doesn’t hurt anyone in the crew. (More complicated than that because he’s still all fucked up about it, but can handle working with Jeremy for the crew’s sake and so on.)

It takes a long, long time before they’re anywhere close to being okay again. Ryan slowly learning to trust Jeremy again.

Learning this new Jeremy who’s old and smarter, yeah, but he’s gained this edge the Jeremy he knew never had. Gotten angrier, jaded and bitter and so on and it’s hard reconciling this Jeremy to  past Jeremy and just. (He sees the Jeremy he remembers from time to time, though. Usually around Gavin and Michael and the others, when his guard’s lowered and it’s. Fuck, it’s confusing as hell and he doesn’t know what the fuck is going on in his own head.)

There are all these Situations that happen from time to time, things that leave Ryan running around knowing Jeremy’s up high somewhere with that sniper rifle of his and how easy it would be for him to take Ryan out in the confusion. Blame it on the chaos and all that and know the others would forgive him for it (at some point) and move on and Christ, that’s dark, but it still runs through his mind every goddamn time.

Never happens though, and there are times Jeremy’s not sniping, feet on the ground right next to Ryan and this shove at the last minute that means Jeremy takes a bullet for him.

Bloody and injured but not dying - guy shooting for Ryan was a terrible shot - and loopy on painkillers and this soft, sad smile and “I’m sorry, Ryan,” and “I fucked up,” and “I know you won’t forgive me, but that’s okay, I hate me too,” and other such things that send Ryan the fuck out of there to go shoot shit in the shooting range or driving like a madman through the streets of Los Santos all the way up to Chiliad until the anger and hurt in his chest burns itself out.

(Anger at Jeremy for not just fucking talking to Ryan way back when, tell him what was going on and his ow obliviousness and secrets and how fucking stupid it all was. How they could have avoided the whole mess if they’d just fucking talked, and how fucked up things are now and just. God, he doesn’t know.)

Jeremy doesn’t seem to remember any of what he said while on painkillers and neither does Ryan.

They both do, of course. Jeremy assuming he’s right about Ryan hating him and Ryan coming to terms/making peace with the fuckery that was/is their lives and starting to look at Jeremy from the other side of all that anger and hurt.

Seeing the way he is around the others, how they are around him. How determined to keep them safe Jeremy is, the hits he takes to do so.

And then at some point they just.

Click again. Work together better than ever - were doing fine before, but now? The others take notice, realize something’s shifted but not sure what, and Ryan catches Jeremy giving him these odd, thoughtful (hopeful) glances when he thinks Ryan isn’t looking.

Goes on like that for a long damn time, and then there’s a Situation and the whole making out in an alley ploy comes back into play, only this time it’s Jeremy who’s hesitating.

Jeremy who doesn’t seem to be able to take that last step, seems scare to, and Ryan.

God, he just.

Snorts, fond and exasperated and then there’s kissing.

Careful, careful, his hands don’t dare touch Jeremy this time around because this is such a fraught situation for them, stay on the wall behind Jeremy, fingers digging into the brickwork as his heart races because this brings up all kinds of memories and doubts and insecurities and fears, and it’s such a mistake.

But it saves their lives, has the assholes chasing them moving past without incident and then he’s staring at Jeremy who’s staring back, this heartbreakingly fragile thing in his eyes and it’s just.

“We should talk,” Ryan says, voice rough and heart about to burst from his chest and all this emotion in him he can’t sort out just yet. “Later. We should talk.”

Because feelings and them and their whole fucked up backstories pre-Fakes and yeah.

They do talk, and it’s this godawful painful thing with raw emotions and such but when it’s over there’s. Hope that they can maybe salvage what they had before, piece it together again and patchwork that shit with the things that have made them who they are now and create something stronger because of it, and oh my God, my mcfreaking heart, okay.

But yes.

====

If we’re sticking with the general Battle Buddies AU he finds himself a quaint little town to become the resident weirdo.

(You know the one, right? Lives in a small cabin/house somewhere a few miles outside the town or city or whatever. Seems nice enough, but also some kind of survivalist or something. Comes into town once or twice a week for supplies and such. Will chat with the store clerks or someone striking up a conversation but generally won’t initiate one himself.

Doesn’t cause anyone trouble and maybe - totally - takes in that three-legged stray that’s been a mainstay in town for a while. Got hit by a car or something a year or so back and the vet saved its life at the cost its leg. Someone took it in for a while but it ran away or they moves away and anyway, it’s kind of a weird dog, itself.

Not mean or dangerous, just. Weird.

Then Ryan comes along and the damn thing takes a liking to him (and vice versa) and anyway, they seem pretty happy about the state of things.

Wherever he ends up he’s there for a while, right? A year or two, and then one day this Stranger shows up. Goes out to Ryan’s place and the dumb stray starts barking at this tresspaser and when Ryan goes out to see what’s got it riled up, there’s Jeremy.

There’s a whole hell of a lot less Drama this go around, because reasons.

Just Ryan and Jeremy and this scruffy stray.

A lot of talking and explaining - the same bit about Jeremy forced to work for the “good guys” to protect Ryan and how well that went, what with the whole fight and whatnot that led to Ryan living in this tiny little town somewhere.

Ryan’s kind of.

He’s just.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

If Jeremy’s there to kill him he’s going to find it harder to do than way back when, if hes not?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Jeremy is at a loss, but knows he wants to make amends - or something - with Ryan.

Gets a place of his own out there, rents out a room somewhere in town and goes out to Ryan’s all the fucking time.

Helps him with repairs around the place or with the garden he’s starting to grow some vegetables and the whatnot. Fishes and hunts and is just.

There.

Makes friends with the people in town, and Ryan feels this thing like annoyance/amusement when he realizes they’ve taken a liking to Jeremy. Cannot figure out how the hell he knows someone like Ryan or why they’re friends (are they?) and keeps quiet when they ask him about it.

This goes on for a long damn time, and Ryan’s just like wondering when Jeremy will get tired of it and move on, but he never does.

If Jeremy’s there to kill him, he’s doing a terrible job of it, isn’t he?

They’ve had Talks every now and then, hashing out what happened, what went wrong. Screamed and yelled and lost their tempers and broken down and just.Not all that fun, and yet Jeremy’s still fucking there.

Before he knows it there’s more of Jeremy’s stuff at his place than not, and the stray loves Jeremy and Ryan’s just.

Doesn’t know when that happened or when he stopped feeling wary of Jeremy being around (he does though, he so fucking does) and started feeling.

Not quite happy, but definitely something good to it.

It takes a long damn time for them to get around to realizing they’re going to be okay, all this shit where they have good days and bad ones. Longer still before the good ones outnumber the bad ones and some moment where Ryan kisses Jeremy without thinking.

Some sleepy morning, cold and brisk and winter coming on and the heat hasn’t kicked in yet and they’re shuffling around the kitchen. Moving around one another and Jeremy hands him a diet coke - would be coffee for any normal human, but Ryan still can’t stand coffee unless it’s heavily doctored with sugar and cream and whatever else and he still prefers his damn diet coke and Jeremy knows that.

Soft little smile and a murmured “thanks, Jeremy,” and absent kiss and Jeremy freezing because !!! that has Ryan ??? before he realizes.

And then he does, suddenly more awake as he looks down at Jeremy. Worried about having overstepped - he’s glad to have his friend back but doesn’t know if Jeremy wants them back, and did he fuck things up?

Jeremy snorts - that fond, exasperated thing - and makes a joke about Ryan just loving him for the diet coke, and trying to make light of it, let Ryan off the hook.

Ryan thinks about it for a moment, about letting this slide and pretending it never happened, but.

He’s happy, he realizes. Jeremy back in his life and this fragile trust their building between them again, and.

“I mean,” he says, “that’s one reason,” and is prepared for Jeremy to laugh and then go on with his business like nothing happened, but of course he doesn’t.

Just looks up at Ryan with all these FEELINGS in his eyes and.

“Oh, yeah?”

And Ryan is like, well, yeah.

Some dorks being dorks and then another kiss, helped along by the stray who runs into the room for the food Jeremy set out for him like the disaster it is. Knocks into Ryan in the process who stumbles into Jeremy who steadies him with his hands on his hips and this dumb smile at the stray’s antics, and looks up at Ryan who’s staring at him, and then another kiss happens because heart so full and all this FEELING and just.

Yes.

Much kissing and eventual happily ever after in this tiny little town in the middle of nowhere where they become the town’s old married couple.

Weird as hell and all the animals they end up adopting, because soft touches and neither of them able to tell the other no and mean it?

But also stupid in love and no one better to go to when a Situation crops up, as they’re wont to do a la movies where greedy assholes send thugs in to intimidate the locals and someone has to Take A Stand and just, idk, but pretty much every other episode of the A-Team tv show there ever was, because reasons. :D?

:D?????????????