Vigilante | ✔

Annual #4

The fact that Matthew had been laughing for the past five minutes did not surprise Eli in the slightest. He still kicked him off the couch.

"Aw, come on Eli, I'm not laughing at you," Matthew said, wiping away his tears of laughter. Eli just glared at him, cheeks red and arms crossed. "But you've gotta admit, that's pretty adorable." And that got him a couch pillow to the face.

"It's not freaking adorable," Eli spat out the word as if it were poison. Matthew tried not to fall into another fit of laughter. "I just named him that 'cause he was a mangy little beast that liked to scratch at my window way too much," Eli went on, blatantly ignoring the heat spreading across his face. On the other end of the couch, Matt mewled in seeming protest of that statement. He certainly seemed offended enough.

"Well, I think he's a very handsome cat," Matthew said, getting back on the couch and petting the cat resting next to him.

"He's fat, clingy and stupid," Eli said. It really wasn't hard to tell that he was done talking about the cat. Matthew just snorted as Eli's glare intensified.

- - - - - - - - -

If Eli thought Matthew would let the whole thing go, he was sorely mistaken. From the moment the dark haired man walked into the coffee shop for the first time since he'd returned from the not so dead, Eli knew things wouldn't go well. At least, not for him. He still clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, Matthew wouldn't be a dick.

Those hopes shattered when Michael saw him and Matthew smiled in a way that promised Eli would be apoplectic with rage by the time Matthew left the shop.

"Oh hey, hadn't seen you in a while," Michael greeted Matthew.

"Yeah, I've been busy, had to spend some time out of the country for work," Matthew lied easily. Eli glared at him from his spot behind Michael.

"Well, it's good to see you again," Michael said. And then he glanced behind him and Eli knew he was going to do something positively evil. "Especially for Eli, he really missed you. Did you know he named his cat after you?" Eli struggled not to hurt Michael. It was a very difficult thing to do.

Still, he didn't think being in the news for murdering his boss would reassure his mother that he was doing well.

"Oh really?" Matthew asked, as if he didn't know. "Eli, I didn't know you cared so much, I'm touched."

Count to ten Eli, count to ten, Eli thought to himself. Remember that murder is usually frowned upon.

Michael and Matthew cackled like a pair of evil old women. Eli reconsidered his life choices and stomped off to clean the tables just so he would be able to turn his back on the two idiots.

- - - - - - - - -

Much like the rest of his life, the whole cat naming thing didn't get better at home. Not that Matthew needed Michael to help him irritate Eli. He'd managed very well on his own from the moment they'd met.

Still, Eli liked to think he had excellent self control. Especially when Matthew showed up every time he called for Matt, despite knowing perfectly well that Eli was calling the cat.

"Go put some clothes on!" Honestly, Eli never thought he'd had to say that to a grown man, but then his life had taken many unexpected turns as of late.

"What? You called me over," Matthew said with what had to be the most poorly concealed grin ever. Eli supposed he should have been glad the man had at least wrapped a towel around his waist before strutting out of the bathroom, dripping wet and mostly naked.

"I was calling the cat, you idiot! The cat!" He was already pushing Matthew back towards the bathroom. "Now go get dressed!"

"You really shouldn't be so embarrassed, it's nothing you haven't seen before," Matthew said, restraining himself from laughing at the look on Eli's face. He didn't think it was healthy to blush that much.

"Oh my fucking god," Eli said, thinking about how much he wanted to push Matthew out a window instead of into the bathroom.

"If you say so," Matthew shot back smoothly. Then he dodged into the bathroom before Eli could hurt him. Eli really should have known that things wouldn't get better any time soon.

- - - - - - - - -

"Get off!" Eli did his best to push Matthew off the couch, not that the man would budge so much as an inch. He'd been sitting on the couch while watching one of his favorite game shows — because he'd finally admitted that yes, he was addicted to them — when Matthew decided he also wanted to lay on the couch. After that, he proceeded to pretty much crush Eli as he sprawled over the redhead. Eli was having a hard time feeling his legs already.

"What, Matt gets to lay on your lap but I can't?" Matthew asked, as if that were really so shocking.

"Matt is a cat that doesn't weigh two hundred pounds. Now get off you fat bastard," Eli said as he continued to try to push Matthew off.

"Hey! I resent that," Matthew said. "I'm not fat."

"You're still heavy as fuck," Eli complained. "Now get off." With a huff of what was probably supposed to be indignation — not that Eli cared — Matthew sat up.

Minutes later, Matt strutted into the room and straight up to Eli. Matthew watched as the cat hopped up onto the couch and then proceeded to make himself comfortable on Eli's lap.

"I'm starting to think you like that cat more than me," Matthew said with a raised brow.

"Well, he can't talk so that's already an improvement," Eli shot back, petting Matt. The cat purred and seemed to make himself more comfortable. Matthew was momentarily surprised when he looked up at Eli and saw him smiling down at the cat. His lips twitched into an amused grin.

"I guess we're pretty similar after all," Matthew said, wrapping an arm around Eli and pulling him closer. "We both love you the most," he finished with a grin that made Eli's face heat up.

He supposed Matt did live up to his namesake.

- - - - - - - - -

Surprise chapter time!

I have a couple other ones planned, but I dunno when I'll post them. Anyway, I didn't give you any sexy times but I did give you mostly naked Matthew so yay?