[Deleted]

Tomas woke up smiling. He laid around in bed for an entire hour just thinking over his date with Maddie last night. They hadn’t left the bar until just before closing, playing pool, sipping cocktails, she made him laugh – laugh like he hadn’t done in years. He didn’t think he would be able to stop grinning all day. If they weren’t telling Mason already today then he would know something was up, he knew now he wouldn’t be able to keep his feelings for Maddie secret anymore. He thought about their kiss at her door, perfection, just like he had told her it would be. He knew she wouldn’t invite him inside – she wanted to take things slow and he respected that. He didn’t know if she took it slow with everyone she dated but Tomas certainly didn’t and those women never lasted, he wanted this to be different and he would enjoy every second of it. No matter what.

It was an hour until they were meeting for brunch and Tomas dragged himself out of bed. He picked up his phone and sent a simple and sweet message to Maddie:

Good morning beautiful.

Then be swiftly added another message:

Ready to watch me get pummelled by your brother, lol.

He was joking obviously, even if Mason did hit him, he would deal with it, it wasn’t like it would hurt for long anyway. Tomas quickly showered before pulling on his black jeans, plain white T and stylish leather jacket. Looking at his watch – 20 minutes until he was meeting Maddie, 40 minutes until Mason should arrive. They had planned to meet just before, reason one so Tomas could kiss her again, two so they could discuss if the date had been a success and they actually had something to tell Mason and three so they could come up with a game plan, how to word it, when to break the news etc. Taking one last look in the mirror Tomas ran his hand through his hair, product keeping it styled just the way he liked it and then he headed out the door to see Maddie.

They were meeting at a brunch place in East End, not far from Maddie’s apartment. Tomas jumped in his car and made it out of downtown without too many problems. Parking one street over from the café, he was there just as Maddie arrived. Butterflies burst into life in his stomach and he walked over to her. He may feel nervous but he wouldn’t let it effect his swagger. He stepped into her space, hand cupping her jaw for a moment he gave her a soft kiss. He savoured it like it would be the last – he was pretty sure she had enjoyed their date last night but he she might surprise him and end this thing before it even began. “So, will we be telling Mason today or was last night a disaster and you can't believed you ever thought about dating me?” he grabbed a seat on an outside table and pulled the chair out for Maddie, offering for her to sit down before he took his own seat. “Because personally I felt like it was a roaring success” he shrugged as he leant back in his chair, catching the waitresses eye and they ordered their drinks – Tomas got his usual morning black coffee.

“Although I am shocked and quite frankly a little offended that you didn’t invite me upstairs for a night cap, I would have been a perfect gentleman,” he grinned as he moved his leg forward under the table so his foot nudged against hers, resting in place so they had some kind of contact.

Maddison Lancaster Mason Lancaster

[Maddison Lancaster]

You've given in to all these
Reckless dark desires

---

When Maddie’s alarm went off, she groaned. It was earlier than she normally woke on a Saturday morning, but it was for a good reason. She looked at her phone to shut off the alarm, a smile settled on her face. She had two texts already, both from Tomas.

'Good morning. And no.' She sent the reply, then got out of bed.

Maddie rushed around her apartment. She washed her face, took her hair down from the bun she’d put it in for bed. She liked the soft messy waves it fell in and decided to leave it that way. She put on some mascara and lip gloss, not wanting to do a full face of makeup for brunch, but still wanting to enhance her features a bit.

It didn’t take long before she was dressed and ready. She chose a black blouse and jean shorts with flats. They had picked a cafe close to her apartment, so she grabbed her bag and a light sweater for when she inevitably got cold if they sat inside. It was a beautiful morning though, so she suspected they’d end up sitting on the patio.

As she was walking to the restaurant, Maddie couldn’t stop replaying the events of the night before in her thoughts. True to his word, Tomas had taken her out for dinner, then they went to a bar for a couple drinks and playing pool. They had spent the whole night chatting and flirting. She wanted to invite him in when they got back to her apartment, but she knew how that would end and she wasn’t ready. Tomas made her nervous in a way she wasn’t used to. She knew he wanted to take things faster, hell, she wanted to take things faster, but the warning bells went off when she thought about it. She was scared she wasn’t good enough, scared that he would lose interest in her as fast as she usually lost interest in guys she was with.

When she walked up to the cafe, she didn’t see Tomas yet. Mason wasn’t supposed to be there for another 20 minutes, so she didn’t look for him. Before she made all the way to the door, Tomas walked over. Her smile brightened when she spotted him. He took the opportunity to kiss her, and she wrapped her hands around his neck. ”Well, it certainly is a good morning, isn’t it?” She smiled and sat in the offered seat at a patio table.

”You know, I have to think about it a bit more.” She teased, unable to stop smiling. ”I agree, it was a success. We have to tell him.”

She didn’t want to admit how anxious she was about telling Mason. She didn’t want to deal with his anger, and she didn’t want a lecture about how bad of an idea it was for them to date. She was certain that was what was going to happen, though. Mason wouldn’t just give them his blessing and move on, it wasn’t how he was. Maddie knew that he would have a right to feel upset by his sister and best friend getting together. Mason had almost as much to lose as Maddie did herself, if this went poorly. How would this affect his friendship with Tomas? Would they carry on like everything was normal? Obviously, Tomas wouldn’t really be able to go to Mason with any relationship issues, but did they normally talk about that sort of thing anyway? She assumed they did, but she really had no idea.

Tomas feigned offense at not being invited in at the end of their date, and Maddie couldn’t help but to blush, even as she rolled her eyes at him. ”Well, maybe you would have been a gentleman, but who says I would have been a lady?” Her smile spread as she felt the contact from his foot. She wanted to move closer to him, but she was concerned that Mason would end up being early and see some sign of their budding relationship before they told him, and that definitely wouldn’t go well, so she restrained from moving closer.

---

@tomas
I’ll add Mason on the next round

[Deleted]

It was the little moments of intimacy that Tomas was really appreciating, the way she entwined her hands around his neck as they kissed, the way her lips felt against his. Small thing he had never noticed before when he was in any kind of relationship. He loved the way every contact he had with her made his skin spark up with electricity and if he didn’t know better he would have thought he was developing a new gift, rather than just infatuation.

She took a seat and he pouted at her as she made a joke about re-thinking them, before agreeing that they need to go ahead with their plan and tell Mason what was happening between them. Now it was all confirmed and Tomas realised that in less than a few minutes the equilibrium he was always striving for was about to shift he felt a seed of panic start in his stomach. This was just his control issues, he was aware of that, plus the shift in stability was happening because of something that he wanted, desperately wanted. He glanced at Maddie and felt his heart rate increase.

He looked around the street for Mason, no sign of him yet – Tomas moved his chair slightly so that both him and Maddie would be faced towards Mason without being too close to each other. A united front but also nothing to be suspicious off when Mason arrived. Although, it was hard not to reach over and just take Maddie’s hand, or whisper something obscene in her ear. He knew better then to risk anything more physical with Maddie before they told him, it would be just both their luck that he would lean in and kiss her just as Mason appeared.

“who says I would have been a lady”… Tomas audibly groaned “Now that is just cruel” he said with a playful tone, her teasing had sent a thrill through him, being kept on his toes by a woman he was dating was a rare thing but he expected nothing less from Maddie.


Maddison Lancaster Mason Lancaster

[Mason Lancaster]

Could you please
Help me understand why

---

Getting together with Maddie and Tomas had become more sporadic over the years. As they all got older, got busier at work and just life in general, their once almost weekly gatherings turned monthly, if they were lucky. It wasn’t rare for it to go several months in a row with one or more of them canceling. Mason was determined not to let that happen this time. He left a note on the fridge for Miranda to say he was going to brunch and he’d be back in a few hours. He was worried about her, after her most recent incident, but he wasn’t going to let focusing on that keep him from enjoying the day.

The drive into the East End was pleasant. Mason had the windows down in his car, enjoying the warm summer air as he drove. It was beautiful out.

As he rounded the corner onto the block where their chosen meet up location was this time, Mason spotted Tomas and Maddie already there. He parked his car and walked up, listening to them banter back and forth.

"You're both early." He commented as he got closer. He sat in the vacant seat and looked between the two of them. "Who is she being cruel to now?"

Mason assumed the snipet of the conversation he'd heard walking up was some reference to whoever his sister was currently seeing. He stopped trying to keep up with that mess a long time ago. Until she was serious about someone, he wasn't going to stress himself out too much worrying. She got bored faster than anyone he knew. It was the one small blessing he could see since she dated the worst douchebags most of the time.

---

@tomas

[Maddison Lancaster]

You've given in to all these
Reckless dark desires

---

Maddie was caught up in the moment, enjoying teasing Tomas a bit before Mason got there. She completely missed seeing his car pull into one of the street parking spaces nearby. Tomas called hee cruel and she smirked. She was about to retort, you know you like it poised on her tongue, but then she spotted Mason walking towards them.

"Oh, no one." Maddie brushed off his question, hoping he hadn't overheard much more of their conversation. She was relieved when the waiter returned with the drinks they'd ordered. Two black coffees, Maddie had gone ahead and ordered Mason's usual for him, and her iced mocha cappuccino. She thanked the server, then turned to Mason. "Easy drive out this morning?"

She was procrastinating what she wanted to say, but she didn't want to ambush him either.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas heard Masons voice just after he called Maddie cruel and his spine straightened, he didn’t seem to catch the flirty nature in which Tomas had delivered the words, but his friends sudden arrival threw Tomas off guard “Errr….” He rubbed his hand through his hair and leant back in his chair, he completely blanked on anything to say, it was probably the first time that had happened to him in his life. Thankfully Maddie remained calm “oh, no one.” Tomas felt his body relax a little and he took a deep breath to get his thoughts under control. “Yup, I’m just winding Maddie up,” Tomas picked up his coffee and took a sip, savouring the bitter taste. Why was it so hard to act natural when you needed to most.

“Have you ever considered that we are on time, and you are just late?” Tomas decided that sarcasm was the way forward, he was very comfortable being arrogant and sarcastic. Some would be offended by it, but both Maddie and Mason knew him well enough to know there was no real spite in his words, he just liked to tease. Maddie asked Mason about his drive here and under the table he nudged her foot slightly and gave her a curious look. They hadn’t discussed exactly how they were going to bring up the matter, but Tomas would definitely have gone with the “rip the band aid” off approach. He had no idea if that was the best way to go about it, but it was the way he approached most things and it seemed to work out.

He watched his friend across the table, and furrowed his brow. He really had no idea how Mason was going to act about this. Growing up Tomas had never even joked about Maddie in that way around Mason. It was just unspoken that she was to be protected and kept safe. Would he see Tomas as a threat now? or was this something he had seen coming? Tomas fidgeted in his chair slightly, he hated having a secret.

Maddison Lancaster Mason Lancaster

[Mason Lancaster]

Could you please Help me understand why
You've given in to all these Reckless dark desires

---

It was easy to get Maddie riled up, that was no secret. Mason chuckled and picked up the coffee that had been placed in front of him. ”Careful, you know you won’t win if you get her all worked up.”

After taking a sip of the coffee - definitely an old pot, but he wasn’t going to complain about it - he looked at Tomas. ”There’s no way I’m late. In fact, I think I’m actually still early.” He looked at his watch for emphasis, then laughed. ”Seems like we all had easy commutes this time.”

Mason picked up his menu and started looking, but then he realized that he was the only one doing so. ”Okay, why are you two being so weird?”

Mason wasn’t sure if he was just projecting the stress he had been dealing with, putting up with Miranda’s increasingly concerning behavior, or if there really was something that he should be worried about with his friend or his little sister.

Maddie shifted in her seat when Mason asked why they were being weird. She wasn’t sure if she was doing anything to overtly clue him in, but nonetheless, it seemed like it was time to rip off the band aid. But how was she supposed to tell him? She’d thought about it all night, planned what she was going to say in her mind, but none of what she'd rehearsed had stuck. Her head was blank.

To give herself another moment to gather her words, Maddie took a sip of her iced coffee. It was sweet and chocolatey, just how she preferred her coffee. She looked between the boys, both drinking their coffee black and didn’t understand it.

Focus, dummy. Stop thinking about coffee.

”Is everything okay?” Mason looked between them, pressing for an answer when neither of them spoke.

Maddie bit her bottom lip and set down her cup. It was now or never.

”Well, there is something…” She started, glancing up at her brother, hoping he wasn’t going to be too mad. Just spit it out already

”Okay? Well, what is it?” Mason assumed his sister had already told Tomas whatever her news was, and maybe that was why he was acting a little weird as well.

”I, we’re- Tomas and I are dating.” Maddie blurted the words out in a rush, stumbling over them with nervous anticipation of how Mason would react. She shifted again in her seat and watched his face.

Mason did his best not to have a knee-jerk reaction to what Maddie told him. His sister and his best friend, for whatever reason, thought that it was smart to date. Each other. He knew back when they were all still in school Maddie’d had a silly crush on Tomas, but he assumed that had ended a long time ago.

”When did this start?” He asked them both, but he looked toward Tomas as he spoke, wondering if he was going to get an honest answer or if they were going to try to skirt around it.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas smiled when Mason pointed out he wouldn’t win the if he riled Maddie up. “Im very aware of that,” he gave Maddie a quick smile “It is fun to watch her get all riled up though” there was a roughness to his voice which Tomas quickly covered with a cough as he picked up his coffee again and took a sip.

Tomas watched Mason pick up the menu, he wished he could do the same but the butterflies in his stomach prevented any kind of food consumption. Mason swiftly put down the menu and eyed them both “Okay, why are you two being so weird?” Tomas grimaced at Masons words, clearly they were doing a good job and looking like they weren’t dating but not a good job at acting normal.

Tomas stayed quiet during the interaction that followed and when Maddie finally said the words ”I, we’re- Tomas and I are dating.” Tomas quickly rubbed a thumb back and forth along Maddies wrist, only twice, but a small show of support, atleast he hoped she would see it that way. Then Tomas moved his attention back to Mason and waited for the reaction.

His friend didn’t react quite in the way Tomas had been anticipating, which was actually a good thing. Clearly Tomas had catastrophised the situation. Mason asked when it started and Tomas didn’t really know how to answer the question, he could give a short simple answer or “I mean, I guess for me it started a few months ago, but we only went on our first date last night,” he said before quickly adding “And arrived here separately,” He gestured to the cafe just in case Mason thought they had spent the night together. “We just….wanted to….tell you before you found out a different way” He bit his lower lip, not really knowing what to say “I really like her Mase, like really like her,” he turned to Maddie “You, I like you. Sorry” He was blathering but he didn’t want Maddie to think he was talking about her as if she wasn’t here. He rubbed a hand over his face gently, hoping he had said the right thing.

Mason Lancaster Maddison Lancaster

[Mason Lancaster]

Could you please Help me understand why
You've given in to all these Reckless dark desires

---

Maddie was enjoying the feeling on Tomas’s hand on her skin, but then he pulled his hand back far too quickly. She understood, they didn’t want to be overly affectionate in front of Mason, especially not right now. Maddie was surprised with Tomas’s answered Mason’s question, though. A couple of months? What the hell? She’d have to ask him about that later. Tomas was cute when he was nervous, rushing out his words and over explaining himself.

Mason watched as Tomas answered. He noticed the touch of Maddie’s wrist, the way he appeared nervous as he spoke. Mason was pissed, but he wanted to keep that in check. Out of everyone he knew, these two were the most important people in his life. They were both exactly the same when it came to relationships - they shouldn’t be in them. All three of them, really, but Mason didn’t try to be in one. When he dated someone it was literally like they had to break through his bubble before even making it on the radar. But his sister and best friend used and discarded partners quicker than anyone else he knew.

Even as mad as he was, Mason did respect that they were telling him and not waiting for him to just walk in on them or find out on social media. But he wasn’t going to sugar coat what he felt about their stupidity.

”You are both idiots. This is a terrible idea.” Mason’s fingers twitched, wanting to tighten into a fist, so he put his hand around the bottom of the coffee cup instead. ”You’re just going to end up hating each other. I’m not getting in the middle of it if that happens.” Half warning, half threat. He knew that neither of them were going to listen to him, it was pointless. They weren’t looking for his permission. If it was his blessing they wanted, well, they weren’t going to get that either.

”Mason, come on.. It’s not like we didn’t think about this. Neither of us wants to hurt you.” Even as she was talking to her brother, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face that had spread when Tomas really, really likes her.

”I’m not dumb, Mads, I know I can’t say anything that’ll stop you two from doing what you want.” He glanced at Maddie before continuing. ”You, especially.” Mason shrugged, attempting to appear casual about it. ”But don’t expect me to pick up the pieces when you two do what you always do.”

Mason took a sip of the old coffee, then picked the menu again, determined to focus on anything other than the fact that his best friend and sister were going to make the most cliche mistake he could think of.

”That’s not- you know what, nevermind.” Maddie let out a flustered breath. She wanted to defend herself against what Mason had said, but she knew it was pointless. Besides, it wasn’t like she could call him a liar. She sucked at relationships. It was part of what she was so scared of right now and why she was trying to take things slowly with Tomas. ”You’re right. We like each other, and we’re going to date each other.” She crossed her arms and stared at her brother.

”But since you have to be all negative about it…” A smirk spread on her face, clearly she was the one trying to rile him up now. “We’ve talked about the custody arrangement with you if it doesn’t work.” Maddie, being even more of a brat, used her negation on Mason and then threw her straw wrapper at him. He still caught it, no extra reflexes or senses needed. She let the negation fade and stuck her tongue out at him.

”You’re impossible, and so immature.” Mason rolled his eyes and looked at Tomas. ”Why do you look like you’re waiting for me to punch you?” He knew Tomas had to be the more nervous of the two of them. Maddie did what she wanted all the time, consequences be damned.

Even if he wanted to hit Tomas - which, the part of him that knew how much of a playboy he was and how overprotective he was of his sister made him want to - he wouldn’t do it. Tomas was like his own brother, they were already family. The best case scenario here, things worked out and he really became his brother. But, even if it didn’t work out, which was where Mason would put his money if he were betting, he didn’t think it would be all Tomas’s fault.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas wasn’t taken aback my Masons proclamation that they were both idiots and that what he and Maddie were doing was stupid. The attitude however did make the hairs on the back of Tomas neck stand up with irritation. Especially when he spoke about them ending up hating each other. It was playing on Maddie’s fears and her automatic jump to their relationship ending before it had even begun. Tomas dug his fingernails into his palm for a moment, he had permanent callouses there from the amount of time he had done it over the years when he needed to keep his temper in check.

Maddie made the joke about sharing custody of Mason. Tomas didn’t take his eyes of Mason, he gave a smirk “Every other weekend with me Mase. But just to warn you I’d make a very absent parent.” It was a joke but there wasn’t much laughter behind Tomas’s eyes. The joke was rooted in truth, his life might seem perfect – money and fancy things, but emotionally and family wise everything about him was unstable. Maddie knew that, but did she really comprehend how deep his trauma ran and could she cope with it if this became more then just dating. He shook the thought from his head, this was Mason getting into his head. Maddie had always bought the best out in him, there was no reason that would change now.

“Why do you look like you’re waiting for me to punch you?” Mason asked him and Tomas shrugged slightly sheepish, “To be honest friend, that was what I was expecting you to do. This response is actually worse then getting hit.” Tomas could feel the butterflies thrashing around again, he didn’t want to be annoyed with Mason but he also wanted to defend Maddie.

“….you two do what you always do” Masons words echoed in his head. Fine, he didn’t have the best track record when it came to relationships but maybe that was for a reason. Whatever him and Maddie were starting was different from anything either of them had done before, surely that meant that this would be different. “Have you ever considered that the reason our previous relationships haven’t worked was because they were just the wrong people and this time it could be right?” Tomas said through gritted teeth shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Maddison Lancaster Mason Lancaster

[Maddison Lancaster]

Could you please Help me understand why
You've given in to all these Reckless dark desires

---

Maddie could see that Tomas wasn’t comfortable with the way this conversation had been going. She wanted to reach out, to hold his hand or rub his arm, but she thought better of it. No reason to start rubbing Mason’s face in it right now. She did try to lock eyes with him, to give him a reassuring smile, but she kept her hands squarely to herself for the time being.

Tomas said he had been expecting to get punched, and Mason shook his head. ”This is worse? Really?” Mason was actually surprised. He thought he had been taking this as well as he could have, given the situation. He wasn’t going to lie to them and tell them he thought it was a great idea. Neither of them would believe him if he did, anyway.

”Look, I’m sorry. It’s not like we planned this to happen. But, here we are and it’s too late to put it back in the bottle.” Not that she wanted to. She wanted to explore all the feelings she had for Tomas, all the feelings he said he had for her. She wanted to dive in head first. It was a miracle she was able to convince him she wanted to take it slow, because that was the complete opposite of what she really wanted. It was also riskier.

When Tomas went on, both siblings stared at him, for different reasons.

Maddie reached out, caution be damned, and took his hand in hers, squeezing gently. She was surprised but also elated to hear the words that had come from his lips. She would probably never admit how right he might be. She had compared many men to him over the years, and they were all found lacking.

”You know what, I’m just not gonna say anything else about it.” Mason set down his menu. ”Can we just order brunch, please?” Mason was going to have to talk to Tomas later, away from Maddie. He knew his friend well enough to know that if he was this nervous and this defensive, he was already smitten. Mason suspected whatever this was between them, Tomas was the one with more to lose. They were both insistent, but had Tomas really thought this through?

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas felt Maddie’s on him and he glanced at her, trying to soften his look. He obviously wasn’t mad at Maddie, what Mason was saying made me scared, scared that she would rethink this whole thing and try and take it all back. As he locked eyes with Maddie though he knew that wasn’t going to happen. They could only go forward from here, there was no taking it all back whether it worked in the end or not. Tomas looked back at Mason and muttered “It feels a hell of a lot worse.” Tomas knew this conversation wasn’t going to make him feel good though, he knew Mason wasn’t going to jump for joy and drag them both into a big hug when he heard that they were dating. “You don’t have to like us dating but you don’t have to doom us before we even have a chance.” It was kind of hypocritical – Tomas was hardly Mr Optimist, maybe he was being blind to the things that could go wrong but wasn’t that the point at the beginning of something like this. Wasn’t he supposed to be besotted and stupid about it all. He was enjoying that feeling, he had never had it before and there was no way he was going to let Mason take it away, even if his best friend was just trying to protect them both.

Maddie’s hand had slipped into his and squeezed and Tomas couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Fuck, he was completely in over his head, it was like admitting that he wanted Maddie had opened the floor gates and now the water was just free flowing. He gently rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand and resisted the urge to pull her over to him to he could kiss her like he had done last night. Everything ached for her and he had to catch his breath for a moment when Mason spoke again about saying nothing and just ordering brunch.

Tomas flipped open a menu with his spare hand, but he still knew he wouldn’t be able to order, Mason may be done with the conversation but Tomas wasn’t. “You really have nothing else to say?” he asked, “I mean you declare this will all end badly but you can’t give any actual reasons other then a few failed relationships” he shrugged, Tomas was competitive and for some reason he didn’t want to let this go, even though he knew he should.

Mason Lancaster Maddison Lancaster

[Mason Lancaster]

Could you please Help me understand why
You've given in to all these Reckless dark desires

---

Mason knew, without a doubt in his mind, that whatever he said the rest of the day was going to be wrong. He wasn't going to be able to voice any of his concerns without at least one of the two of them believing that it was a personal attack on them. Even as he was trying to be as understanding as he could be, he had concerns. His sister seemed to discount him, but Tomas took it more personally. Of course he did. He was the one who was most at risk here.

"Look, man, I'm not trying to doom you two. I'm just trying to be realistic." Mason looked between them. "What really happens if you two don't work? Because I don't want to be stuck in the middle of that."

"If we fail, then we go back to being friends." Maddie answered quickly. She had her doubts that it would really happen that way, but it's what they'd discussed, and what she hoped would happen, at least.

Maddie tried her best to reassure Tomas silently, but she knew Mason was getting to him. She sighed and releases Tomas's hand when he questioned her brother's tentative acceptance and willingness to move on. Of course this wasn't going to be that easy. It wasn't like anything was ever so easy with them.

"I said all that I have to say right now. It's clear that what I think doesn't matter here. I wish you two luck, but I don't see it ending well." Mason kept his eyes locked on Tomas the whole time he spoke. He almost felt badly for his friend. He knew it was far more likely that Maddie would hurt him as opposed to the other way around.

When Tomas mentioned a few failed relationships, Mason held in a laugh. "Just a few?" He shook his head. "Look man, I've been as nice as I can be about this. My sister is going to ruin you. And you'll let her. Neither of you have ever had a lasting relationship. You don't know what it takes."

Mason hadn't meant to say so much right now. He'd wanted to wait until he was alone with Tomas, to talk to him as a friend and not as Maddie’s brother. But Tomas had pushed the issue, and it all came out.

"Fuck you, Mason." Maddie stood up. She was upset, hearing that Mason thought she'd be the one to fuck things up. More than that, she had a deep seeding fear that he was right, that she would do something wrong and Tomas would hate her forever.

"Oh, for the love of god, can we just forget it? You two are dating. Yippee. Can we just move on?" Mason was aware that neither one of them were going believe he had said everything he'd been thinking, but he was done. No matter how hard they pushed now he wasn't going to oblige this conversation any further.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas reluctantly decided that he wasn’t going to push the subject anymore. It wasn’t like he had anticipated this going down any better than it was going. In fact they had both predicted that Mason would act this way. The verbalisation that they were going to fail just seemed to trigger something inside Tomas. Likely some PTSD shit from his parents expectations and then reaction when he fell short of the impossible, he hated to admit that they had shaped him into any part of the man he was today but unfortunately the bad in him was all them.

“Even if we are doomed to fail, I would rather we try and know we tried then ignore it and be miserable.” These weren’t really words for Mason and more for Maddison. He gave her a crooked smile. When Mason said they didn’t know what it takes to make a last relationship Tomas leant back in his chair and through his head back in laughter. “And you are the expert?” he mocked his friend jokingly this time, the three of them had no examples for functional relationships “We might not know what works but we know what makes them fail, we will avoid those things” he shrugged.

The harsh words aimed at Maddie made Tomas balk, he resented the idea that Maddie was going to ‘ruin him’, it made the spark of anger ignite inside him again but he quelled the flame and took a deep breath. Maddie was pissed and she was standing now, telling Mason to fuck off. Tomas gracefully stood from his chair, so he was facing her, he placed a hand on her upper arm and traced a light circle with his thumb. A part of him knew it was true, he would do anything for Maddison before they were dating. He would sacrifice a lot more now that the feelings were stronger. “You arnt going to fuck this up,” Tomas tried to reassure her and then threw a glare at Mason, “Knock it off ok? there’s no need to be that harsh. We get your point; none of us have the best track record and you think we are idiots.” None of them could deny that they all sucked at function relationships “We will do our very best to keep you out of the middle of it all” Tomas knew that was a big lie, even if they tried they would never be able to keep it all from Mason, even if it was perfect. Tomas offered Maddie her seat and then took her own “Now what shall we eat?” his tone was scolding as he scowled at the menu.

[Mason Lancaster]

Could you please Help me understand why
You've given in to all these Reckless dark desires

---

Maddie listened to Tomas’s words and let what he was saying sink in. He’d rather risk it, rather try to make a go at it than wonder and be miserable. She agreed. She had wondered what it would be like to date him for so long, she’d had herself convinced it wasn’t a possibility. Even as scared as she was to mess things up, she was excited to think maybe she wouldn’t. Tomas’s smile was reassuring, but the feeling didn’t last for long, before Maddie was properly mad at Mason. She had known this would be a hard conversation to have, that he was going to be upset with them, but she hadn't considered that he would come at her so hard.

Mason sighed. He shouldn’t have just let it all out like that, but it was what he thought. ”I’m definitely not the expert. I’m probably more hopeless than either of you.” Mason admitted. ”Maybe you have a point.”

He watched as Tomas calmed Maddie. It wasn’t usual for them to comfort or calm each other, but now it was different. Now, Tomas was comforting and calming Maddie from something Mason himself had said. He didn’t like it. He felt his fingers twitch again, and he made a conscious effort to keep his hand flat by his side.

Maddie took a deep breath while Tomas stroked her arm. She wanted to throw something at Mason for real, and not just a straw wrapper this time. But she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, she just nodded when Tomas assured her she wasn’t going to fuck things up. She didn’t quite believe him, but she was going to try to let it go. She sat back down, but moved slightly closer to Tomas this time.

”Maddie, I didn’t mean, well, I don’t think you’re-” Mason sighed. ”I’m sorry.”

”It’s fine. I’m over it. Tomas is right, we should figure out what we want to eat.” Maddie grabbed her menu and began staring at the pages, having no idea what she was going to order. She was still mad at her brother, but it was only because she thought he was right. ”What are you two getting?’

”Breakfast burrito and a side of bacon.” Mason answered quickly. ”If you’re planning on stealing my bacon it’ll be two sides of bacon.”

---

@tomas