[Deleted]

Tomas watched Maddie and Mason tense interaction for a moment and wondered what it was like to have a sibling. The two of them had pretty much always been a whole package since they were kids, you couldn’t have one without the other. Tomas was an only child; he had a few cousins he rarely saw dotted around the country but that was all. He had made Maddie and Mason his family.

As Maddie moved closer Tomas instinctively leaned towards her, he rested his arm across the back of her chair and moved the menu closer and began browsing the pages casually. He knew he was going to have the eggs benedict; it was his favourite breakfast. He hadn’t eaten at this café often so he hoped they wouldn’t butcher it, poaching an egg well could be a bit of an art form.

“Eggs benedict for me,” he answered Maddie’s question and flipped the menu shut, grabbing his coffee, and taking another sip. This was not good coffee, but he needed the caffeine so no doubt he would order another cup after this one. He automatically smiled when Mason said about ordering two sides of bacon in case Maddie stole his. That was much more like the Lancasters he knew. “Good choice” he said to Mason, followed by “When are you at work next?” he was hoping to move the conversation back to normal things, they way the were before Maddie and Tomas had dropped their relationship bomb into the conversation.

Mason Lancaster Maddison Lancaster

[Maddison Lancaster]

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

---

Now that he was aware of their new relationship, Mason didn’t miss the small movements between his friend and his sister. Glances, moving closer to each other, and touching. He supposed he would have to get used to it. He wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t like he had any way to convince them how bad of an idea this really was. When they were over, when they hated each other, he only hoped they truly wouldn’t put him in the middle. He didn’t have high hopes for that to actually happen.

”Oh, maybe I’ll get a side of hollandaise to go on the burrito.” Mason mused aloud, thinking about Tomas’s breakfast choice and how to improve his own. He wanted the burrito, but he definitely also wanted it smothered in sauce. Hollandaise would be great on it.

”Ew.” Maddie scrunched her face. ”How can you both eat hollandaise? It’s so gross.” Maddie glanced down at the menu again, and leaned back in her seat, enjoying the feeling of Tomas’s arm draped around her. It felt right, it felt natural for them. She was glad that it was out in the open. Mason had his fit, and now they could get back to all being normal again.

”I think I’m getting the goat cheese and mushroom omelet, with fresh fruit. And no, I’m not gonna steal your bacon.” She closed the menu. ”Ort maybe I’ll get the banana nut pancakes instead..”

Mason laughed, knowing it was likely his sister would end up with something completely different if she was given enough time to change her mind. But the waitress was walking over, so he supposed it wouldn’t have the time to change her decision three or four times.

They all ordered, Mason getting his side of hollandaise and still ordering two sides of bacon, and Maddie getting the omelet.

”I have today and tomorrow off. Got off shift at eight this morning.” Mason answered. He’d been lucky and actually managed to get some sleep the night before, since they hadn't had very many calls.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

When Mason mentioned adding hollandaise sauce to his burrito Tomas thought about the addition and then nodded slightly in approval. The hollandaise was the best part of his breakfast. He had no idea how Maddie thought it was gross, “Im going to have to take you to some experimental cuisine restaurants and change your pallet if you think hollandaise is gross,” he teased smiling at her, he knew of some underground restaurants who experimented with strange and sometimes psychedelic ingredients.

He looked at Maddie dubiously when she said she wouldn’t steal Masons bacon and then looked over at his friend, leaning forward he said in mocked hushed tones “Maybe best to order extra bacon,” he said and then grinned innocently at Maddie. The waitress arrived and took their orders, she gave Tomas and Mason flirtatious smiles as she repeated their orders back to them and Tomas just reached over and took Maddie’s hand in his, a clear signal that he wasn’t available.

When Mason talked about getting off shift Tomas raised nodded, none of the trio had normal sleeping patterns, Mason and Maddie both did shift work and likely had restricted sleep from the trauma of their youths, similar to Tomas. He averaged maybe 4 hours a night if he was lucky. “A busy night?” Tomas admired Mason for his job, he risked so much, not necessarily his life with his senses and reflexes the way he was, but their gifts were all secrets. People knowing was something they were both fighting for but it was also dangerous.

Mason Lancaster Maddison Lancaster

[Mason Lancaster]

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

---

Maddie scrunched her face when Tomas teased her about her limited pallet. He wasn’t completely off the mark, she stuck to what she liked, and wasn’t too adventurous with trying new foods. ”I think I’ll stick to what I know I like, thanks.” She smirked and stuck her tongue out at him.

Mason shook his head at the two of them. ”You remember you’re talking to the girl who thought ketchup was too tangy until we were all in high school, right?’ He laughed and sipped at his coffee. It wasn’t getting any better as it cooled, but he wasn’t going to stop drinking it. The caffeine was more necessary than the flavor most days.

"Oh, shut up." Maddie crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, pretending to take offense. But Mason was right, she still didn't care for ketchup much, but she'd deal with it on a burger or hotdog.

Once they’d all ordered, it felt like things were getting back to normal. Mason knew that it would be impossible to talk either of them out of this, so he resigned himself to shutting up and letting them implode on their own in time.

”You actually kept two whole days off? Who are you and what have you done with my work obsessed brother?’[/color Maddie called him out for his tendency to overwork himself. He rarely kept both his days off, and generally worked three or more shifts in a row if he was needed. Occasionally he took a step back and took time for himself though. ”Any reason for actually keeping your days off this time?”

Mason shrugged. ”No, there was no reason. And, actually, it was a pretty steady night last night.” He answered them both. ”Nothing too exciting, though. Just a bunch of stubbed toes and vomiting.” Nothing that would haunt him. Honestly, probably nothing that he would even remember by his next shift. Those were the best nights, though. At this point, he’d take mundane calls any day. "How's work been for you?" He asked his friend, though he knew it would probably be much the same as always.

---

@tomas

[Deleted]

Tomas rolled his eyes when she declined to change her food preferences, “I think I’ll stick to what I know I like, thanks.”. He raised his eyebrows a wicked glint in his eye and leant ever so slightly closer to her, keeping his voice low “I hope you don’t apply that rule to everything,” he grinned, he couldn’t resist, even with Mason there (although he hoped his voice was low enough Mason didn’t hear his flirtations).

His best friend teased Maddie and Tomas leant back in his chair and smiled, he liked that the drama was over with and they could just fall into their old trio ways. Tomas was determined to prove Mason wrong about him and Maddie but he knew it was just something that would come with time. Tomas hadn’t helped onto a relationship for longer then a month at a time for years, it would be different with Maddie, he could feel like to his bones. This was different, he glanced at Maddie from the corner of his eye, it was for him anyway.

Mason went over his night at work and Tomas nodded, happy his friend had a steady but not overly eventful night. He agreed with Maddie though, it was very unlike Mason to take time off, he wondered if his friend was getting burnt out, or if the stress was getting to him. It hadn’t been that long ago that Tomas had run into (literally) his friend in the park after Mason had partaken in an evening of drinking and very stupidly, driving. He wasn’t about to talk about it, but he made a mental note to keep an eye on his friend. “I’m glad you’re taking some time off, even if it’s just a few days, anything exciting planned?” he asked, sipping his coffee. When Mason asked how work was for Tomas he just shrugged, “Lucrative,” he smiled, it was an easy answer. Tomas put in the work and he was good at what he did but it was hardly an exciting job, he made an obscene amount of money, which is exactly what he wanted. Blackstorm was more fun.

Mason Lancaster Maddison Lancaster

[Maddison Lancaster]

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

---

Mason could tell it was going to happen before he did it. The way Tomas' face lit up mischievously, there was no doubt he was going to say something scandalous. He'd known Tomas long enough to catch some of his tells. Sure enough, his friend leaned close and whispered to his sister, and it was Mason's turn to roll his eyes. His hearing was too keen to not overhear the whispered innuendo.

"Mostly." She could feel her cheeks redden, and she glanced at Mason in time to see him rolling his eyes at them. At least he didn't seem mad. It was more like he was resigned to the fact that he couldn't stop them.

They settled in, both boys teasing Maddie, just like old times. Maybe dating Tomas wasn't going to throw a wrench in their trio dynamic as much as Maddie had feared. If Mason stayed on board, and it kept this light and fun, it could work.

The conversation shifted, and they got to the topic of Mason's schedule. He didn't know why they were both making a big deal about him not working overtime, it wasn't like he took shift every day he had off. Just half of them. Or maybe a little more than that. He sighed, realizing they both had fair points and it did seem weird for him. "No, I don't have anything particular planned. It just worked out this way. And no, neither of you need to look at me with that worried look."

There was a small truth he was burying, refusing to tell either of them. He had finally convinced Miranda to go back into rehab, and he'd be using one of his days off to bring her. But they didn't need that burden.

Mason smirked when Tomas responded with a single word about his own job. Lucrative. Tomas had a way with his profession, it seemed like it came naturally to him.

”Oh Maddie, what about your job?” Maddie piped in, with a mocking tone, before answering herself. ”Oh, that’s right, my job kinda sucks and isn’t as interesting as both of yours.” She stuck her tongue out at the guys and took another sip of her iced mocha latte. ”How’s my nephew?” Maddie smirked, questioning her brother about his dog.

”Max is just fine. He’s too spoiled, and he gets fed way too many treats.” Mason laughed as he answered. Maddie always claimed that she wasn’t a pet person, but whenever he had her watch Max, she didn’t want to give him back and she spoiled the hell out of him.

---

@tomas