UNMASKED

#06

There were times in his life when Eli wondered why he was still involved with someone as undeniably creepy as Matthew. At that very instant, for example, he couldn't help but glare at the cup of coffee sitting innocently on the bench at the bus stop, waiting for him. And there was no doubt in his mind that it was, indeed, waiting for him, considering it had his name on it followed by a heart written in black marker.

Eli almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it was.

He almost did laugh, mostly because the street was empty and so there was no one around to judge him. Instead, he gave a tired sigh and took a seat, grabbing his drink. Eli looked around, wondering where his idiot boyfriend was hiding, but figured he was wasting his time. With a shake of his head, Eli took a sip of his drink.

Idly, he wondered if Matthew had bought the drink while in his costume and nearly choked on his hot cocoa at the mental image. Eli's bus came before he could continue on that train of thought. He still made a mental note to ask Matthew about it later.

As it happened, Eli didn't get to ask Matthew about his little stunt. Mostly because, for once, Matthew seemed to be in a bad mood.

From the moment Eli—lounging on the couch in his pajamas—spotted Matthew making his way in through the balcony, he knew something had upset the dark haired man. It was in the tense set of his broad shoulders and the sharp glint in his eyes. It made Eli feel uneasy.

"You're back early," he said. Eli watched as Matthew did his best to put on a tight smile for his benefit, eyes softening as they always did when he looked at Eli.

"Well, you're always telling me to take it easy. And I did get almost stabbed yesterday," Matthew said, carefully removing his mask.

"When has that stopped you?" Matthew's mouth twitched into a small smile. "But seriously, it's not even midnight."

Slowly, Matthew's smile faded, his eyes sharp once more and Eli couldn't help but worry about whatever it was that he would say next. Then, he let out a breath, some of the tension from his shoulders leaving.

"What is it?" Eli asked, not really wanting to know. Still, might as well get it over with.

"Today I got some interesting info on Fisk," Matthew said cautiously. He was well aware of how much Eli didn't want to hear that particular name. "Apparently he's been upset about me getting in his way, so he's doing what he can to get me out of his way."

"Meaning?" Eli asked, though he had a horrible feeling he knew the answer.

"Fisk is offering a reward to whoever gets rid of me." For a moment, they were both silent. Eli struggled to process what Matthew had just said while Matthew waited to see how the redhead would respond.

"So, he put a hit on you, is what you're saying," Eli said eventually, sounding far more calm than he felt.

"I know it sounds bad, but it's mostly just the usual crooks being a bit more, er, enthusiastic." Eli almost felt like laughing, because only Matthew would talk that way about people wanting to kill him. He figured that was proof enough he'd finally gone off the deep end. 

"Well, that's great and all, but now what are we going to do?"

"We aren't doing anything," Matthew said, and Eli was already preparing the best glare he could muster. "I'll do something about it, but I don't think I should stay here for a while." And then, as if he hadn't just said he was leaving, he tried to walk away.

"You can't just leave. What the hell? So you want to just fuck off somewhere for who knows how long until people don't want to kill you?" Eli was just about done being calm, but honestly, Matthew should have known better.