#mcg|brian gamble

[tarnishedhalo]

Do you justify occasional asshole behavior by being unobjectionable for the majority of the time?

Turned Inside Out || Accepting

"To quite Denis Leary, I'm an asshole and proud of it. I told this buddy of mine, I'm not Willy fuckin' Wonka, I don't sugar-coat shit. And it works for me because I know I've never told anyone anything but the truth. I can go to bed at night and sleep with a clear-conscience and that's something I don't see a lot of people doing. "And so, yeah. It hurts people's itty bitty delicate feelings because almost every fuckin' one of 'em come from this whole snowflake participation award bullshit, and have more para-social disorders than you can shake a dictionary at because they've never been told to nut up and buy a helmet. Does that mean I won't fuckin' help someone who's down? No. Does that mean I'm gonna make 'em owe me for it? No. "If someone needs to be babied? They can go hit up Beth. She lives for it, but like I don't gotta tell you that. If they need to hear it straight and they need someone who will actually do something other than hold their hand? They get me. And you. And I don't think I really need to have to explain this to you cause you're sitting shot-gun on this one, I'm pretty sure." Riley pauses to take a breath and narrows his eyes. "Unless you're an alien fuckin' pod person."

[brooklynislandgirl]

Riley - be honest - you'd actually love it if Beth and I got together.

TMI Tuesday || Always Accepting

Few men can carry a palpable sense of menace when sipping through a straw. Riley has elevated it to an art form. And while he stares silently at Gamble, taking a bite of his burger, he lets his thoughts percolate. On one hand it would kill him. He knows too much about the man's habits of not taking women seriously. Not that Gamble is a trophy hunter per se, but he's also not exactly ready and willing to go the full commitment route. He enjoys his freedom, the ability to choose, the need to have escape routes. And Riley gets it. Especially after the Jersey Devil. Hell, he'd have gladly chewed his other leg off just to get away from her if he had to. But Beth has never been a casual kind of girl. She might seem worldly sometimes with her flirtations but they ~and she~ are still mostly innocent and he could see Gamble inadvertently destroying that. He's afraid of that Gamble could end up fucking the kid up in ways beyond his ability to repair.And not even maliciously, it could be wholly accidental. Just being himself. She clearly doesn't get when he screws with her just to get a rise from her, and more than once Riley's had to listen to her complain about the hurt she's felt, the frustration that your best friend nevah take me seriously.

Riley would never, ever consider dating Gamble's sister, if he had one, because of the potential end.

He sighs. "First of all...fuck you. Second...no really, fuck you. But I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world, after I kicked your ass from here to Pacifica and back. And ground her for years."

[tarnishedhalo]

Obviously it’s a match made in heaven. You don’t get to pick the music though, no way. And there’s no way in hell shotgun’s gonna shut his cakehole.

~*~ “The day we get divorced is when you actually try to slow kiss me. However we should go down to the lawyers because I honest-to-God believe I’d lose custody of Beth to you.”

“Other than that, we’re ride-or-die, man. You’re more important, more loyal, and better than the actual Jersey Devil ever was. We’ll agree to disagree about the music, even though that shouldn’t be an issue, we pretty much have the same tastes.”

[tarnishedhalo]

“Have I told you lately, how much I love you?”

"I know you didn't knock up my sister and if you'd wrecked my car you'd already be in South America going by Guillermo or something so...do I need to bring a shovel, or do you need bail money?" Riley's a little slow on the uptake, the three inch long laceration above his left eye still hasn't fully sealed, and he looks ~accurately~ like he's just rolled out of bed, with neither a chance to style his hair or grab coffee. He opts for the latter, first. "No, but serious...what's wrong?"

[tarnishedhalo]

“They would find you and torture you, and you would tell them everything.“

Days of Yore || - "Ah but that's where my genius shines through. They would have to figure out how to track me, and I left my phone at my dad's place ~wiped clean of all incriminating evidence~ and bought this iPhone as a burner. An old friend of mine is a former CIA spook. Had him put the contract under his name." Riley beams. "Fool-proof, really. Now, are we sailing down to Baja for a quiet weekend of binge-drinking and questionable choices, or are you going to be Senor Grumpy Face all night?"

[tarnishedhalo]

a loveless marriage - oh no wait, we already have that.

The USS Make-Shit-Up || Accepting

"G, puh-leese. You ain't gonna find a badge bunny anywhere in the world that could do you in any way better than I could and I don't even want you to cuddle or call me in the morning. That being said. You comin' to dinner tonight, or do you actually have plans that don't include me?"

[tarnishedhalo]

So, why are you such an overprotective asshole with your sister? And what really happened with the Jersey devil? ~*~ Hostiles on the Hill || Accepting

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. He is neither drunk enough or sober enough to really deal with either of these questions, and Gamble has got to be aware of that. For long moments he stares at nothing in particular, running both of those things in his mind while remaining situationally aware of all the other bar patrons and where they move in regards to the table he and Gamble are sharing. His immediate reaction is to want to asks Brian why any of it matters and why he thinks it's any of his business. His second thought is because of course he's yanking Riley's chain and Riley knows that he is. Third is... he has ever right to yank back.

"Beth makes shitty choices is why. If I allowed her to, my house would become a roving bnb for drug addicts, homeless strangers, anyone she feels sorry for and she wouldn't think twice. She wants to make friends and doesn't know how, she's a sucker for a sob story, and do you know the kind of people that attracts? Last thing I want is to find out she got married in vegas to some schmuck who's gonna take her for everything she's got and leave her with the kind of gift that keeps on giving. I mean, honestly, I got a million reasons that no one will ever understand." Plus she's crazy and broken, and the one time he ever took his eye off her, she almost died.

"As for the Devil, turns out meeting a bitch on the doorstep of basic was kind of a bad idea. We were kids who had no business getting married, my dick was too big and at the time, my paycheck was too small. She came pre-spoiled from one of those big Italian families and expected a certain kind of life. One that didn't include Beth. But mostly it was my dick." This isn't the time or place to drag out the trauma or the rage when he found out that she'd Cinderella Shoed half the outgoing platoons. That she'd purposefully murdered their child. That she likely would have been bought off by his father, if she'd known then that he was one of those Rileys. Or the kicker, the lowest point in his life when he got back and considered making a new start with her, only for her to throw the words 'broke down cripple' in his face. "Now, if you're fuckin' done playing touchy feely, we doin' bottle service, or naw?"

[tarnishedhalo]

"What the cinnamon toast fuck is this?"

Five Little Words || Accepting

"Shrimp and Scallop Fra Diavolo with ika sumi pasta. And it fucking took me several to make it by hand. Not to mention the sourdough garlic bread and the salad so that I know all of it will get eaten. Now just close your eyes and try it! I promise you if you absolutely hate it, I've got a porter house with your name on it." Riley stops himself short of making airplane noises as he holds up the fork.