dylanquilter

[dylanquilter]

While he wasn't a fan of her tantrum, he was happy enough with the outcome. He'd told her earlier to let him handle things and now she was finally listening to...not reason exactly but something close enough for her brain. "Thank you. I will get you information, I promise. Tali is starting to trust me so I can probably get you what you need without having to rummage through her shit." He might edit things a little to keep everyone safe, but he'd give Shannon intel to work with.

"Believe it or not, Shan, but I actually knew you had a real reason. I know you're smarter than breaking in to vandalize shit, that's my job." Parents were a tricky topic around here. He didn't like the idea of judging people based on who their parents were. And Shannon had a fascination with the Montes family that he would never understand. He tried to keep the topic of parents firmly away from Tali, but he had a bad feeling he wouldn't be able to do that for long. "That's a little vague, can you spill the whole thing or is this newspaper business?"

It sounded like everyone was just super obsessed with her if they were all paying that much attention. “My biggest fan,” she said.

Shannon honestly just wanted to scream. She was so fucking mad about all of it and she couldn’t do a single thing about it.

“Fine!!! I’ll leave her alone but I’ll need your help if I’m going to do that.” Shannon didn’t know how to get the answers she needed from Tali otherwise. She could keep trying to get into this drive without Tali, but she wasn’t confident she could. And the way Dylan was talking made Shannon feel like Tali would just shoot her on sight if she saw her in person.

“I wasn’t at her house just to antagonize her. Do you really think so low of me?” Shannon almost laughed though, because it was not out of the realm of possibility. It had only turned into a taunting kind of gesture at the last moment. She hadn’t planned on Tali knowing at all before that. “I found something at the Mayor’s office about her parents that could be connected to what’s happening to us right now.” Well, Nell had found it. Not Shannon. But the details didn’t really matter. And leaving her girlfriend’s name out of it made Shannon feel like she was protecting her.

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

Dylan gave a small nod to Lou as she thanked him. It was all Tali's work, but he was sure she'd get credited as soon as she left the kitchen. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. He watched her walk in and couldn't keep the grin off his face. It was so fucking domestic, but in a good way. Not a gross sentimental way.

He took one the balls and popped it into his mouth. It was lighter than he expected, not nearly as hefty as a bread roll. The chew was cool and the cheese permeated the whole thing. It was more upscale than he was used to but he liked it. "Excellent, babe. You did a great job."

He didn't really know what cassava was so he let someone else handle that. He was assuming it was some sort of Latin American thing but he was not going to put his foot in it when he didn't have to. Luckily, Tal saved things by asking something he could actually answer.

"I'll take that one, babe. So we were at the same party and we had a little contest. I thought I was just fucking with her, but she was competitive and," He'd never actually admitted this out loud before because some dickwad had crashed into the cups before they declared a winner, "she beat my ass. Thoroughly. There was no way in hell I was gonna win and I found that really hot." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm pretty good at games so I don't normally get a lot of competition and even less from really hot people but watching her beat me was more captivating than the playing game."

It was a great story and it was true, but it was more of a beginning than the full story of how they came together. "Took a lot longer to convince her that I was the one, but I'll let her tell that."

“And I appreciate that. I do.” She just didn’t love the whole almost-starting-something-with-her-dinner-guests-instead thing. That was not her favourite either. “Oh my God. Okay Gossip Girl. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” She rolled her eyes, unable to help the hint of amusement on her face. The Quilters apparently had some similarities after all. Just without the backstabbing.

Tali was not entirely reassured, but at least he was trying. She hoped the rest of the night would be a lot smoother. Tequila could only help. “Obrigada. Thank you,” she said, running her hand over his back as he moved past her with the tray.

She found herself alone in the kitchen without one tall distraction, but she was trying her best to hear them in the other room. She laughed in surprise when she heard Dylan drop a little Portuguese into conversation. Tali would have to ask him about it.

Checking on the main she’d prepared earlier and was heating up in the oven, she sighed in relief when it all looked great. She wasn’t like Tony, able to juggle a thousand things in the kitchen and entertain while he did it. Her food smelled amazing though, not burnt like she’d feared, and that was more than enough for her. She gathered her bowl of Pão de Queijo and walked into the other room.

“Pão de Queijo, one of my favourites. I could easily just eat this. Light, cheesy, incredible. But I’m trying to be a good host tonight, so these are just our starter.” She placed them down on the little table in between them and took one of the margaritas, taking a sip before she looked to Lou to make sure she was okay. “Dinner won’t be much longer.”

@lourdesvillasisniega

#p: doubles #with: tali #with: taliesin #with: lou #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

#p: I survi i ived #with: shannon #with: drew #with: morgan #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

"Shan, she knows your fucking handwriting. Not to mention it's a lip shade everyone has seen you wear." He was not going to lie straight to Tali's face. Tony would fucking murder him. Also, he didn't want to. He had very few problems with her breaking into places, but this was just too fucking far.

"If Nell lied straight to your face and you knew it, you would not take that shit lying down. Same situation with me except, again, the people she hangs out with people who keep armed guards around their house." How many times did he have to say it before it finally sunk in? "I am working on getting her to leave you alone, but it's not fucking easy and I can't lie to her about something that obvious."

He ran a hand through his hair. Why did he fucking care about her when she couldn't help but try and ruin things in whatever direction she wanted. "I will try and get this squared away but you have to stop antagonizing her for fun. Pick literally anyone else, except Tony."

Dylan shouldn’t be important to Tali. The thought of Tali still being a part of her life, even just being connected to her brother in any kind of way made her want to barf. The way he was talking though, Shannon knew it wasn’t just a random hookup. Which made it so much worse. So fucking nauseating.

Heat flashed through her entire body at that. She’d fucked up by leaving a message, she knew it now. But she’d just been so mad in the moment. It had felt like the least consequential way of expressing herself. She was wrong about that apparently. Was she sorry though? Not really.

“Just tell her it wasn’t me. Tell her you asked me and you believe me. Say I was at the fucking school disco making out with my girlfriend in the dark.” That was a good way to tell him about Nell wasn’t it? Shannon folded her arms, looking up at her brother. She hated how much taller than her he was. Fucking giant, for what? “If you’re so important to her then she’ll believe you.”

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

Dylan held up his hands as if to say was innocent. "Miscommunications have been our downfall in the past. I didn't want to start anything." He got her point, but he knew how many times he'd screwed himself out of being with her and didn't want to return to that. "But, now I know. I can ask you about your friends boyfriends rather than them. New territory for me, but I'm figuring it out. Besides," he smirked, "I've never been averse to a gossip hour." He was bi, what could you expect?

He was mildly disappointed that she didn't want to speed this along, but he got it. Socializing was something he was still figuring out irl. Wasn't like Niamh or Sloane was getting a partner anytime soon so he didn't really have to navigate this stuff that often. He'd survive this one. "I'm fun. And I can make this fun. Don't worry." He was man enough to admit that he'd gone a bit real housewives a second ago but that had to be at least a tiny bit entertaining. "No more drama, promise, just the chillest double date."

The alcohol would help. As would Tali's promise to give him the reins after Lou and Tal went home. "I have a few ideas." He kissed her back, squeezing her hips softly. He wished she'd linger for longer. The other two could wait. He moved his hands to the cold countertop, relishing the feel as a means of getting himself under control. "Alright," He relented. He'd be on bitch duty, but only for her.

Dylan grabbed the tray and hoisted it up like a waiter. "Knock, knock," he called out loudly, just in case the other two were doing something on the couch. "Margaritas, care of Senhora Montes." Yeah, he had actually done a tiny bit of studying. He was on like the first lesson of Portuguese but it still counted.

“Okay,” Tali said slowly. She couldn’t really see how he’d arrived where he had, but she didn’t want to make a big deal of it. He had apologised. “I know it’s easy to say this now, but I don’t think I would have thought that. I know what it looks like when you’re into someone.” She looked at him pointedly.

Tali was glad she’d thought to mix the drinks before she’d gone upstairs. Dylan’s lips on her skin and the smell of him wrapping around her made it very difficult to focus on her fine motor skills. She hummed while she pretended to think about his offer. “We can play it by ear,” she told him, pouring the last one. Tali wasn’t a glutton for punishment. If it didn’t improve she wasn’t going to force everyone to hang out. But.

She turned around and cupped his face with her hands, her thumbs fitting into the divots in his cheeks. Tali brought his face down just a little so she could look him in the eyes without having to crane her neck. “I really want this to go well. I want to have a fun date with my new hot boyfriend, my best friend, and her boyfriend.”

“Once we’ve achieved that, you are more than welcome to decide what we do with the rest of our night. Okay?” Then she kissed him, wishing for half a second that Lou and Tal weren’t waiting for them in the other room. But they were, so she broke away and swiped her thumb across his mouth to get rid of the little bit of colour she’d left behind.

“There’s a tray in here you can use to take the drinks out,” Tali said, reaching behind her to tap the cupboard door. “Please.” She added. “I’ll check on the food and be right there.” She’d feel like a colossal failure if she fucked that up.

@lourdesvillasisniega

#p: doubles #with: tali #with: taliesin #with: lou #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

Dylan was relieved to be getting a little bit of a breather. He needed a minute to reel back from the fucking shit storm he'd almost started by trying to be a decent guy. This was exactly why it usually wasn't worth trying. He gave an apologetic smile to the other couple and followed Tali out of the room, paying extra close attention to her ass.

His smile turned into a smirk as he finally had a moment alone with her. "Makes sense in retrospect, but I didn't want you to think that I was into her." He crossed his arms slowly, wishing he'd done a few push-ups before this whole thing started. "In my experience, asking why a girl has a guy with her that was with someone else comes off as being interested." They'd had enough hiccups on that front to last him at least six months.

He dropped his arms slowly, boxing her in from behind. "Thanks for that." He'd take his shirt off but he'd probably get yelled at for dirtying the kitchen or something. Tony had a lot of rules about that. He figured Tali did as well. He moved her hair away from her shoulder and kissed her jaw as she got the drinks ready. "We can make this an early night, if you want?"

He wasn't just saying that because he'd already almost stepped in it. But it was definitely his second reason for suggesting. "I know I can't keep up with the party crowd all night."

Greatttt. This was great. She knew that Lou wasn’t the kind of person to put up with anything like that. And honestly, she couldn’t blame her. Tali wasn’t either. She’d be upset though if their double date ended before it even began.

Lou’s explanation was uh, interesting. But from now on that was exactly what Tali would say about that situation too. The only problem would be if this ever came up around Anu, but she would deal with that if it happened. She didn’t really know what her own opinion on all of that was. Tali and Anu had been in their own worlds since everything began. She also had suspected that Lou felt something stronger for Tal for a while. She didn’t think Anu cared like that. These two, holding onto each other and twisting the truth to shut her boyfriend up, made sense.

Tali waited a little nervously for Dylan’s response, but she didn’t need to. She squeezed his hand again, a more positive message this time. “You know what? I think it’s time for drinks,” she said. “Margaritas for everyone? We’ll bring it to the living room,” she told Lou and Tal before moving to hold onto Dylan’s forearm. “You can help me,” she told him.

Tali walked him to the kitchen, slowly breathing out the stress of that moment. “You can always ask me things like that,” she told him once they were out of earshot. Though her answer would have obviously been different, it didn’t matter. She would have told him about the similarities between them. The long lead up, the feelings she hadn’t been able to ignore. How happy she was that they’d both made things official. It was too late for that now though.

She stopped him in the middle of the kitchen. “I disagree with Lou though. You don’t look like Trip or Finn in this shirt. I’ve never wanted to see their polos on my bedroom floor in my life. Yours however, very different story. And your arms in this are driving me a little crazy. So.” She shrugged and turned to the counter to pour everyone their drinks.

#p: doubles #with: tali #with: tal #with: lou #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

Dylan hadn't necessarily expected Tali to thank him, but he figured he was showing that he could look out for her friends. He could protect them. Like Tony, but different. "Yeah, babe, whatever you want."

But Lou was taking control. He could see the similarities between her and Tali now. Always had to have some personal stake that tipped the edges. He nodded as politely as he could, though honestly, he was a bit out of practice.

"I am one of the few feminists in that house." If Tali wanted to raise an objection, she could but he'd been around Tony enough to know the truth. "So I understand the game you were playing and I respect it. I needed my own backup at that event for different reasons. I don't want to undermine the struggle that women go through. Being friends with Raleigh has actually educated me more on that front." At least on the reproductive justice side. "Thank you for clarifying and not being upset. I knew my reasons for attending with a different date," He turned to face Taliesin, "I just didn't know yours. I'm sorry and there was a compliment in there."

He didn't feel great about being compared to Trip and Finn that way, but he would take what he could get. He'd made a slight miscalculation but was his life these days if not endless fucking adaptation (especially with Shannon deciding she was Harriet the spy out of fucking nowhere).

"As a newly minted boyfriend, I defer to Tali as to the plan's for the evening."

“You look like a fucking dream Lou.” She really did. If there was anyone she didn’t mind being outshone by, it was her.

Tali blinked at Tal when he touched his fist to her outstretched hand. What was that supposed to be? “…Thank you,” she said, drawing her hand back and choosing not to draw attention to that bit of awkwardness. She felt that was pretty generous of her, but she wanted this to go well. “Onions have already been chopped, thank you boys. I’m making some of my Brazilian favourites for you so I hope you enjoy them.”

Tali froze. Somehow Dylan had managed to drain all the warmth from the room in about five seconds flat. She looked at Lou, read the expression on her face and immediately squeezed Dylan’s hand in hers. Though, she wasn’t entirely sure he knew how to read her signals yet.

“Uh,” she said, turning to face her boyfriend and placing her index finger right in the center of his chest. “Can I talk to you for a second in the other room?”

#p: doubles #with: taliesin #with: tali #with: lou #tl: day twelve #//get out of here clover that's tali's spot

[dylanquilter]

Dylan wanted to put his arm around Tali's shoulder but she was too far away. So, he settled for her holding her free hand. He was keeping a close eye on the blonde. He'd seen him a few days ago with someone else. Guy moved fast. He would not be moving in on Tali.

"They're right, babe, you look perfect." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "And I can help with whatever you need as well." He should have thought of that earlier but better late than never.

He was too fucking new to this whole dating thing. Tali's friend was making a joke that he wanted to follow up on and her date was just going along with it. But, Tali would kill him. She'd step right through his toes with her heels.

"I think we'll lay off the real intricate shit for now. Although, I'm not sure this is your first time." He sized the guy up. "It's a bold move to go on a date with one of Tali's friends and then show up with the other one. I can respect that things change, I brought a friend, but you two didn't look like friends."

Tali was probably going to yell at him. He didn't think he deserved it. He was just surprised. And if his sister was getting raked through the coals for opening up old wounds, he didn't know what would happen to this girl when Anu changed her mind. Felt right to at least bring it up.

He turned to the other girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I should have said that earlier but between you and Tali I've been a bit overwhelmed by beauty."

talimontes:

After the conversation Tali had with Tony that morning she had thrown herself into double date prep. She relished the distraction, needing to forget for one evening that her best friend had killed somebody. Processing that wasn’t an option today. So she would focus on this.  Tali wanted this to be special. She’d made some of her favourite Brazilian dishes for dinner, wanting Dylan to try them while they still had the ingredients she needed to make it perfect. She would have made feijoada again if she and Lou hadn’t already thoroughly covered that. Tali just hoped she had done it justice.  She’d rushed upstairs to finish doing her makeup, thankful that she’d had the foresight to style her hair before she’d started cooking. It had made her wonder how Tony juggled things like this all the time, though it didn’t take him nearly as much effort to get ready. That probably helped significantly.  Tali heard Dylan calling for her, giving herself one last look over in the mirror before she made her way down. She was wearing a long flowy dress, black with small white polka dots and a slit up the side to show some leg. Dylan hadn’t seen her in it yet, she was looking forward to his reaction.  Tali had not expected the group of them to be waiting by the stairs for her, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t love the attention. “Hiii!” She said, reaching to hug Lou when she made it to the bottom. “I’m so happy we could do this. Tal, how are you?” She offered him her hand, all physical affection was reserved for a select few people.  Finally she turned to Dylan, a smile on her face as she pretended to smooth down his unwrinkled collar. “You look nice meu querido.”

#p: doubles #with: taliesin #with: tali #with: lou #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

"Yeah, actually, I am." He was so fucking sick of her undermining him all the time. "Did you not just listen to what I fucking said? I am important to Tali. You are important to me. So, Tali keeps you safe. That's the situation." Like, it wasn't entirely altruistic of him, he did like Tali, but he went into this knowing he would have to angle for some sort of protection for Shan. It was only fair.

He shook his head. "Of course she knows it was you. You snuck into the last party she planned. You were her first and only suspect." The least she could have done for him, the very least, was not make it so clear but she'd just barrelled ahead like always.

Dylan took a deep breath. Then, he took another. He was not going to lose it over this. "Shannon, the next time you pull something like this, you're not getting out of it." He didn't know how to be any clearer than that. "These people use violence to deal with people. You'll be lucky if you wake up to someone's decapitated head in your bed, okay? That's the shit you're messing with right now." It fucking chilled every bone in his body to think about it. But he'd made the call to keep them safe and it was better to be on Tony's side than against it. For now.

shannonquilter:

“Are you seriously telling me that you’re fucking Tali to stop Tony from murdering me?” Shannon shook her head. “Even if I hadn’t broken into her house, in what world would she want to protect me? That doesn’t make any sense!” Maybe she’d made things worse by doing that but they weren’t great to begin with. Shannon wanted to point out that Tali wouldn’t have even known Shannon had been there at all if it weren’t for the two of them showing up early. It was kind of his fault actually.  “A lot of people wear lipstick. She doesn’t know it was me for sure.” Shannon paused. She didn’t want to ask. “Does she?”  “Tony knows I’m not with him. Next time I do something they don’t approve of I won’t leave love notes in my wake. Okay?” 

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

So the brightest minds in New Ham are bickering about guinea pigs, the government can’t decide how long they should take to read things, and some people want to know where Noah is. Others want to know why the fuck they should care.

But hatchets can be buried, peaces made. Secrets forgotten, people disappeared. Nothing helps like a party.

It’d be a shame if something was to happen to it. 

So press play and go.

#with: tali #tl: day eleven #p: break the ice

[dylanquilter]

So the brightest minds in New Ham are bickering about guinea pigs, the government can’t decide how long they should take to read things, and some people want to know where Noah is. Others want to know why the fuck they should care.

But hatchets can be buried, peaces made. Secrets forgotten, people disappeared. Nothing helps like a party.

It’d be a shame if something was to happen to it. 

So press play and go.

#p: gimme more #with: tali #tl: day eleven

[dylanquilter]

taliesinmauk​:

wewerechildrenwerenotnow​:

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

“We might need a slightly different signal.” Tal said, his voice husky as he slid his hand along her hip. “Or we’re gonna need to ask for a bathroom. Or a bedroom. Or to go home. Kidding.” he added quickly, “kidding.” He wasn’t, but he was trying to be mature about things. He’d gone to dinner with Anu, so Lou really had a right to ask for anything she wanted, let alone any social obligation she wanted to set up for them. Tal tried not to think about the fact that Tali had been at that same dinner, and he suspected Lou was doing the same thing. He’d never understood these sorts of friendships she had that went outside the New Romantics. Probably because he was generally good in a room in short bursts but otherwise pretty lousy without his favorite form of social lubrication. There were the Romantics, his weed friends, and the kids he’d grown up with, but even then, the only ones he viewed as equals were the Romantics. He’d practically raised people like Bronte and Nell, and weed was, you know, weed. 

Still, he leaned into her touch, enjoying the weight of her hands on his jacket. He’d dithered at least twenty minutes trying to decide between it and one of his “impress the parents” blazers. Part of the problem was he’d already worn two of them around Anu and he was pretty sure Lou wanted to burn them. In the end he’d opted for the motorcycle jacket Lou had actually bought him, a level up from the worn old thing Joe Fusco had handed him when he’d noticed his preteen self’s desperate efforts to be cool. 

“And I will enjoy you enjoying it. As I tend to in all things.” He smirked at her, pointedly not removing his hand before sobering slightly as she thanked him. “It’s no problem. I’ll be fine, Louie. Promise.” He didn’t want her trying to rescue him. People like Tali seemed like the kind who would notice weakness and remember it as long as she lived. He wasn’t going to have Lou ruining her relationship with her on his account. He’d handled things at the Alessi dinner alright, right? Right.

“Hey.” Tal tugged her to him, pressing her closer so he could bring her lips to his. “You deserve this. You deserve whatever you want.” He wished he could say he could give all of those things to her, but deep down they both knew it wasn’t true. But she didn’t mind at the moment, and that was what meant a lot.

With great reluctance, he finally broke the kiss, pulled away from the curve of her body, and knocked on the door. 

@dylanquilter

Dylan had showered, shaved, and changed into a different polo - a nicer one - in preparation for this little get together. He had been thinking, for once, and brought a change of clothes over. It wasn’t as nice as a button up, but Tony wore those all the times and he wasn’t trying to bring more drama between him and Tali by dressing like her boy space friend.

He bounded down the steps to check the table while Tali finished getting ready. He wanted her to have her moment down the stairs like Cher Horowitz. That was the kind of moment he was sure Tony or any other guy in her life hadn’t given her. It was just a little thing between the two of them.

He wasn’t an interior decorator but he thought it looked nice. The kind of shit that Shannon would take a picture of and put in one of her journals for the memz. The food smelled fucking great and it wasn’t made by Tony so even better. He’d get over his jealousy eventually, but tonight wasn’t the night for that. Tonight was the night to prove that he could do this.

A knock thundered through the wood. “I got it, babe.” He spent a moment looking at his phone, checking for any texts, then he walked over. He didn’t want them to look eager or anything.

Opening the door, he realized that things might be a little bit more involved than he thought. Lou was in a fuschia dress that was very short. Tal was in a leather jacket. It didn’t match, but it went together. Like, they didn’t need to try being a couple, they just...fit. He swallowed his own twinge of disgust.

“How’s it going?” He pulled the door farther back so they could step through. Everyone’s perfumes and colognes were mixing together to make a mixture as potent as Frankie’s weed. (Or so he’d heard.) 

He ushered them over to the staircase, “Tali, we have guests.”

@talimontes​

#p: doubles #with: taliesin #with: lou #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

shannonquilter​:

Phase: Day Twelve

Dylan was such an asshole. And she couldn’t lie to him. Even if he didn’t practically know half of it already he would see right through her if she tried. Plus she wanted to give the same energy right back to him, and she couldn’t do that without admitting what she knew and how. 

“Fine, let’s talk about it. My message wasn’t just for her. But I would love to know why you were even there with her in the first place. I thought you were going to be done with her.” She realised he’d never actually said that, but she’d seen the look on his face after she’d told him about the rumour she’d heard. He was upset. So why was this still happening?

He could not believe that she was turning things around on him. It really sucked having a sister whose favorite hobby was picking fights with people. She was too damn good at it. “I told you I was handling things in a way that wouldn’t get either of us killed. You went and poked the bear.”

He took several steps forwards. “We had a meeting, Shan. I said I’d think of a situation that would buy us some safety while we waited for the right opportunity to really put the screws in.” He had meant that at that time. Things had changed. Shannon didn’t need to know they had. “Dating Tali puts us both in her protection and allows me to get close enough to Tony without raising alarms.” He rubbed at his eyes. “You sneaking around and leaving a fucking calling card is undoing that progress. He wants you dead already. Can you get that through your brain? I am trying to keep you safe. There are no laws right now and he lives in a mansion full of explosives. This  is not the easiest situation to handle.”

Dylan wanted to sit down but he couldn’t stand the thought of them being close to eye level right now. He liked Tali a lot, but he hadn’t forgotten how dangerous Tony was or what he wanted to do to Shannon. She hadn’t been at the dinner, she didn’t realize how serious things were. “Look, Tony called a meeting and basically said that if you’re not with him, you’re against him and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep people out of the way. I said we’re with him. We need to act like that. And all that means for you is not breaking into Tali’s or Tony’s house. It should be so freaking simple.”

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

talimontes​:

“No,” she said with a laugh. “You do dress well. I just mean… the way you looked at me when I came back in here wearing your shirt. I want that.” Tali was enjoying it all probably too much. “So just for us. Okay?”

It made Tali so happy to be making plans with him, to know there would be more to come. The feeling of being wanted as much as she wanted him. Having someone who would make her their priority, and getting to do the same for him. It made her hopeful. And she needed that now more than she ever had before. “Sounds perfect to me,” she said. 

“Me too.” She felt herself getting a little tired, but there was no way she was going to let their night end that soon. Tali would stay awake until the sun rose to learn everything she could about him. “Sooo. Tell me about all your favourite things.”

“I’m fucking with you. I know you prefer my style on the floor rather than on me.” He squeezed her tightly. “But just for us works.” He might snap a photo or two of it, just for himself. Maybe make it his phone background, but that was for later.

His mind was already working on an inventory list for redecorating purposes. He hadn’t seen enough of Tali’s house yet to guess the Montes style but he figured expensive never went out of style.

He leaned back and prepared to lie through his teeth. She could not know about clarinet or warcraft. “So I’m a pretty big gym rat....”

[the end]

#p: meet me in the afterglow #with: tali #tl: day eleven

[dylanquilter]

talimontes​:

“Okay, fair enough. How about I only borrow them when we’re alone. For your tracking convenience,” she said. Tali could understand not wanting anything to go missing. Especially when there were no options to shop. “And as good as you look in your clothes, my sense of style is quite specific and I don’t think wearing your shirts in front of other people is going to give me the reaction I want.” See? She could compromise.

Tali raised an eyebrow. “They probably didn’t, that feels like a lot of work that few of us would actually be interested in doing. But you make a good point. Some of the really nice places even have wine cellars around here.” That would make them even more popular if they chose to share. She wasn’t sure she’d want to though. 

Tali scoffed, gently poking him in the ribs. “Okay boyfriend. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Well, he sure as fuck wasn’t going to talk about doing an excel spreadsheet. So, that worked for him. “I can handle that.” But then she went and challenged him. “Are you saying I have no style? I’m pretty well dressed.”

He pulled her a little closer as she complimented him. “I might have to go on my own little,” Fetch quest. “Scavenger hunt. Find the best alcohol in these houses and save it for us. We can have our own two person party.” Fuck, little too dorky there. But, he did his best.

“Good, I like having you next to me.”

#this gif but less goofy tho okay #p: meet me in the afterglow #with: tali #tl: day eleven

[dylanquilter]

shannonquilter​:

Phase: Day Twelve​

Shannon had only just stood up when he appeared in her doorway acting like she was the one who had done something fucked up. That was fast, he must have eaten his Wheaties this morning. She clenched her jaw, hating that his words actually made her want to clue him in on anything. His betrayal stung too badly for her to do that though. Not only that, but she didn’t know how much he actually knew. She wasn’t going to incriminate herself if he was just guessing. “Hi Dylan, nice to see you too. I’m good thank you, how are you?” 

She waited a beat, resisting the urge to fold her arms. That was defensive body language and she didn’t want to look guilty of anything. “What are you even talking about?” 

“Cut the shit, Shan.” He loved his sister, but he was fucking pissed with her. He would have been fine with her Scooby Doo cosplay if she’d at least had the decency to cover her tracks. She was going to get both of their heads on a pike if she didn’t start to be a bit more careful.

He sighed. “I know that you’re a lipstick lesbian, but did you have to be so fucking literal? You mind as well have signed, ‘I’ve been in your house, kisses Shannon Quilter.” He wished the internet still worked, because this kind of anger was better managed in a video game where he could fuck shit up with no consequences. “Tali may not be your best friend anymore, but she still knows your handwriting.” He took the deepest fucking breath he could manage. “So, you wanna talk about it or do you want to keep playing dumb?”

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve

[dylanquilter]

shannonquilter​:

wewerechildrenwerenotnow​:

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

Shannon had left Nell’s early. Their night had been thrilling and eventful, she’d wanted to stay and do all of the coupley things she could think of. Being with her was a dream come true. As dramatic as it sounded, this had all come after four years of Shannon crushing. Hard. Actually getting to live it just proved that her imagination was inferior to what real life had to offer. 

So she’d given up a morning with her girlfriend in the hopes of 1. Finding information about Tali’s family and 2. Avoiding her brother whenever he did his walk of shame. 

Nell and Shannon had looked at the USB they’d stolen as soon as they were able, but the folders on it were encrypted and password protected. It was incredibly frustrating, because as intelligent and resourceful as Shannon was, she didn’t know how to break into things like this. 

The next step was to try what she was good at, and that was gathering information. She sat on her bedroom floor flicking through the journals she’d kept during the time she and Tali had been close. Shannon was looking for anything that might be a password hint. It was difficult though because this wasn’t Tali’s USB of secrets, it was her dad’s. And Shannon only knew one big secret of his. 

Shannon heard the front door unlock and she cursed, tossing the journal back into the chest. Dylan was here earlier than she’d thought.

@dylanquilter​

Dylan wanted to be working on finding a house to fix up. He had some pretty good plans to start making. But Shannon had once again stuck her nose where it didn’t belong and he had to handle that first.

So, he’d left Tali (regrettably) so he could go yell at his sister. He bounded up the steps and headed straight for her room. “Hey, Shan. I thought we had a deal. You trust me as I gather info to take Tony down.” It was a delicate fucking game and she was going to get him killed. “What the fuck happened to the plan?”

He hadn’t made up his mind yet if he was going to go through with the plan. It could hurt Tali and he and Tali had been on the outs when they’d first started talking about it. But...Tony was a threat that needed a leash. So, he had more to think about. And he didn’t need Shannon getting ideas before he’d even started thinking. “Catch me up because I’m one of two defenders you have in this whole fucking town. I deserve to be let in.”

#p: rooting for the anti hero #with: shannon #tl: day twelve