six_word_stories | (no subject)

Man if he were around he'd kick my ass seven ways to Sunday, bro. I faked my own murder and filmed the whole thing. He'd--

[Oh. Oh no. What have you done, Joshua. All the color has gone out of his face. His heartrate has skyrocketted. His hand is shaking.]

Th..this is the part where we both say 'just kidding' r-right?

Edited 2017-10-15 03:31 (UTC)

Easy. Nobody's kicking anyone's ass. [However if he does want to pull away Matt won't stop him.] I promise.

You.

You're serious.

[He believes Matt, too. After seeing the parkour thing the other night. Getting a look at the people who Matt knows and hangs around w--]

Did I just have beers with a bar full of super humans the other night?

[And Matt, the shit, has the nerve to smile at him. He rolls a shoulder.] You did. The Avengers, to be specific. Barton's been after me for a parkour match for months now.

[A squeeze to his shoulder.] They're people, the same as you.

[The shock has at least stopped Joshua from casually talking about his elaborate suicide note, complete utter nuclear bombing of his friends' emotional states and the conversations that usually follow that line of thought.]

I...told someone who could break me in half to take a joke.

[Mortification that soon turns to what is most definitely not a sulk.]

You're a dick and you're lucky I like you.

And that's why Steve likes you. You didn't treat him any differently. The same for the others. You just saw people and I think at times the city forgets that.

[Another sly smile.] I like you too. And I'm glad that you're here.

Which one is Steve? The guy who laughs way too loud? Or is he the one with the t-shirt tucked into his jeans like he's afraid it's going to run away if he doesn't.

[All Josh remembers is Foggy, and Barton being the loudmouth in purple.]

Can...can I ask you a question?

No, the one who laughs too loud is Thor. Steve is the one according to Foggy who always looks like he's about ready to call everyone's parents.

Sure. I'll answer as best I can.

Why? I mean like so, so many other questions, but I guess they all come back to that.

[He'd have never taken the effort to learn otherwise.]

You mean why do I do it? [That's not an easy question to answer, but he will do his best to at least be honest.] Because I can. Because I was trained to fight in a war that I didn't want any part of, but I wanted to protect my neighborhood, look out for people who had been forgotten.