lounging around in johnny’s room was, usually, always a pleasure. but you could tell something was up.
the taskforce had a break from missions and work as they were all on forced leave from price. overall, you probably worked too much, and a leave was definitely deserved.
“what is it?” you spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence.
“what do you mean?” the scot replied, confused yet also defensive.
“somethin’ happened on your leave?” you questioned, resting your chin in your palm now as you assessed him.
“hmm..” johnny hummed, glancing at you out of the corner of his eyes. “being nosy, eh? that’s unusual..” he assessed you back.
“what’s unusual is your shitty mood.” you countered, raising an unamused eyebrow behind your skull mask as you adjusted position once more, forearms resting on your knees now whilst facing him.
a beat.
“—is it that obvious?” the other man sighed, laying back down on his bed, arms crossed behind his shaved head.
“yeah,” you agreed, “very obvious.”
after a brief silence of you just looking at johnny’s face, you spoke up again. the silence was slightly unnerving now.
“the guys told me you all went out drinking.” you mentioned, “and you left really early.”
johnny sighed one of those familiar sighs, staring stubbornly at his ceiling. “fuck, you really do know everything..”
but not everything. johnny thought.
“ehh.. not everything.” you murmured with a huff. johnny went silent again, zoning out as he stared at nothing in particular.
your calculated gaze observed his body. the way he was unusually tense, the subtle furrow of his dark eyebrows…
the sergeant remained infuriatingly silent, his mind flashing back to a few nights ago.
truth was, johnny had left the bar early. he had left with a man who he had been talking to for a weeks—pure coincidence they were there at the same time. despite this, johnny didn’t feel anything for the man. he just thought of it as a way to blow off steam while his mind was occupied with more emotionally constipated thoughts: you .
johnny thought of the first ever endeavour he had with said man, and johnny always had the same request whilst they did anything intimate. ‘put on this skull mask’, was his requirement. not because the man was ugly, but because it meant something deeper to him which he covered up as a kink.
“is this a thing you do usually? ask your hookups to put on a mask?” the other mans words echoed in his head. “have you got a thing for it?”
johnny swallowed a lump in his throat, and nodded. “yeah.” the scotsman agreed, voice rough with a swirl of emotions.
“this is new.. but interesting!” — that was their first endeavour.
this was the latest:
“i do everything you ask.”
johnny stayed silent. “ … “
“put on a fucking creepy skull mask, and even then you still change your mind.” the man scoffed, pulling his clothes back on.
yeah, because they weren’t—
his train of thought was interrupted by a sharp, “if you’re not into me, just say so.”
“yeah, sorry… i can’t do it.” johnny admitted, swallowing a lump in his throat.
“whatever.” the other man scoffed, slipping on his shoes. “don’t contact me again.”
“what a waste of time…” was all johnny heard before he was left in a familiar, lonely darkness.
you watched johnny get lost inside his head, interrupting by nudging his thigh gently. “oi.” you whispered, now genuinely concerned, yet you didn’t let it show behind that skull mask of yours.