the silence is expected. they've never really shared their feelings before unless during a crisis or similar. it feels good, cian finds.

"you're a good person, bo."

he walks over with beers in hand. one for his brother.

"i'm petty as shit so i would've talked shit about her new guy." he scoffs in feigned disgust. "man probably stinks. pee-you."

boruta maher

☉

”yeah, yeah. thanks, cian.”

the log shifted under the prong, propped so the fire could breathe. he set the poker down when he was satisfied, and then reached for the beer.

”i’m a dad. i can’t be petty. toxic fathers aren’t cool.”

he was speaking from experience.

”you’re probably right though.”

the neck of his bottle clinked against cian’s before he took a drink, smiling.

CIAN MAHER

☉

toxic fathers definitely aren't cool. he nods in agreement, knowing from experience.

bottles clink and he raises his drink, sipping.

"so! are you gonna ask me about my dating life?"

as a hint, he whispers with a grin:

"you should."

boruta maher

☉

he sipped his beer, eyes lingering on the torchic idly. then, cian’s excitement perked him back up easily, the corner of his lips hitching.

for bo, it had always pretty much been one person. before willow atkins , there hadn’t really been anybody, and after, romance had simply disinterested him. though he’d left, his heart had never become available again. but his brothers were different. they were the flirts. they dated. they were very much available, and it was fun to hear about it, even if it was a touch depressing. seeing his family happy brought him joy.

”okay,” he grinned back. ”how’s your dating life goin’, ci? better than mine?” always.

CIAN MAHER

☉

"surprisingly, yes."

for once. finally.

"her name's penelope and she works for hbs. i think it's safe to say she's smarter than us combined. excluding caden maher."

it's hard to hide the smile that always seems to form whenever he talks about PENELOPE LIVY. it's safe to say he's smitten.

"willow atkins invited us over for dinner sometime. that includes you."

boruta maher

☉

”are you calling me stupid?”

he quirked a brow, smirking into another sip before setting the beer down on the fireplace. it would probably get gross quick that way, but he had never been much of a drinker and this was typical.

caden maher was the smart one. that much was fair and obvious, at least.

cian looked genuinely happy, and his smile was contagious. surely it wasn’t the reporter that was on the news all the time?

”what, PENELOPE LIVY ? the reporter?”

was his brother dating celebrities now?

at the dinner invitation his smile wavered a little.

”oh, yeah? did she say it includes me?”

CIAN MAHER

☉

"uh, i'm calling us stupid."

collectively.

"that's her."

still unable to stop smiling, he nods, not yet wary of his brother's wavering smile.

"yup. don't worry, bro, you know i always have your back. i think willow wants to do it next weekend."

boruta maher

☉

bo shrugged, resigning to cian’s call. ”guess you’re right.” they were both pretty stupid.

it was the reporter. impressive. but how?

his eyebrows raised and he nodded, part-proud, part-worried, because that sounded very high-profile. did hbs’s lead reporter know he was in team rocket?

next weekend at willow atkins ’s, where Roman Maher also lived. he could only hope that he would behave himself with a celebrity in the house. 

”nice. guess i’ll plan for that then.”

back to the other topic.

”so how did you meet PENELOPE LIVY ?”

CIAN MAHER

☉

no, hbs's lead reporter does not know of his affiliation to team rocket and it'll stay that way for as long as he could will it to. but knowing his luck...

"it was a meet-cute in a casino. her date flaked on her so i stepped in."

like something out of a hallmark movie.

"i can't even remember whether i lost or won money that night. all i remember is how happy i was."

boruta maher

☉

he smirked, and it turned into a grin as cian went on. it was a sweet story. 

”aw, that’s pretty cute.”

still, there was that nagging concern in the back of his mind that he wouldn’t let show. not while cian seemed so happy. he deserved it, after everything he was continuing to live through. 

”i’m happy for you, brother.”

CIAN MAHER

☉

"pretty cute? come on, it's adorable."

no one can say cian never gushes about his significant other. he does and will continue to do so for as long as he can.

one final sip of his beer takes him to the bottom of the bottle. he sets it back down on the counter, then gestures out the backdoor.

"i'm gonna need some help with firewood. do your muscles work or are they just for show?"

boruta maher

☉

bo smiled. ”yeah, you’re right. it’s adorable.”

he felt the urge to reach out and ruffle his brother’s hair, like he’d done when they were kids, but he refrained. cian was, what, twenty-four now?


just kidding, he knew how old cian was, of course.

”they work,” he assured about his muscles. ”a ranger has to be tough and strong, cian.” although sitting behind a desk so much had surely not done him many favors.

he headed for the backdoor.

CIAN MAHER

☉

"i just wasn't sure, you know, since you spend all day behind a desk now."

he's making fun of his brother, clearly, because he knows bo does much more than just sit behind a desk. in fact, bo probably does more in a day than cian. definitely.

after a chuckle, cian follows bo out the backdoor where he'll "help" with the firewood which really just means he'll watch as bo does all the work.

boruta maher

☉