Post by The Madness Menagerie on Mar 19, 2021 18:49:41 GMT -5
An Entourage special CD from ourself, Lab Rat King, and Dom Strife... Enjoy!!! Always a pleasure to work on these
~These events take place before Chaos 107~
Axton Gunn pulled his rental car into the driveway of the suburban home, sighing as he turned the ignition off. For a moment, he just stared through the windshield, very much aware of Sebastian in the passenger seat beside him--his dogs had been left at daycare, and he was already missing their familiar presence. Whenever he was unsure about something, having them nearby was reassuring. But he had to focus. He’d promised Sebastian he would.
He didn’t want to do this--not really--and yet… there were too many voices on his mind spurring him on. Silvio was counting on him to keep trying to better himself. Jon wanted him to pursue his own happiness, and he couldn’t do that with this sword dangling over his neck. Sebastian? He’d been put through too much. He could only imagine the stress he was under, dealing with his immediate family, with Frankie, and his second family crumbling like this. And Dom…?
… He missed Dom. He missed Isla. This might be his last chance to avoid losing them… he couldn’t afford to throw it away. His heart gave a dull, twisting throb.
“Okay,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door. The makeshift ring in which they’d once honed their work together was only a few steps away. “Let’s head back.”
“It feels like it’s been forever…” Sebastian’s gaze is lost as the last few people that used the ring clear out for the evening as the sun dips beneath the horizon. It felt like an eternity ago that Sebastian, Dom, and Ax were all training to become a unit. To become The Entourage. Seb smiles and shakes his head, getting out of the car and following Ax.
Axton led the way back along the side of the house, his pulse starting to race with his nerves. Everything he’d thought he was going to say flew out of his head as he rounded the corner, and his eyes settled on the silhouette of Dominick Strife, cast in a half-glow of warm setting sunlight where he stood ringside.
Swallowing the stone in his throat, he looked to Sebastian for assurance, and then stepped out across the backyard lawn toward his estranged stablemate.
Dom looked on as they approached, his figure appearing to them as bloated at first, and only until they got closer did they realize that he was wearing multiple sets of sweat clothes encapsulated by a green jumpsuit. He had been there for some time, obvious by the beats of sweat that dripped from every pore in his face and from the tips of his black hair. Even the jumpsuit appeared soaked, as if the empty gallon jugs of water resting in the corner of the shed had their contents emptied on top of him instead of having been leaked through from the inside out.
The truth was that Dom had a lot on his mind, too. He had earned the right to challenge again for another Carnage championship but was unsuccessful in every opportunity before. Each of them stung, but hurt in different ways than the other. The anxiety of failure had plagued his mind so badly that self-torture masquerading as practice seemed the only viable release of this energy. It was the only chance he had at getting a good night's sleep; and if he couldn't sleep, he certainly couldn't beat the Avenger when it mattered most.
Yet what Dom did not realize was that the amount of stress he had been under had been largely self-inflicted, and it was because of these championship opportunities that he let more important things slip away.
Seeing Sebastian and Axton approaching together was nerve-wracking. He wasn't sure if Jon was going to show as well, and wouldn't blame him either way. Dom was expecting the worst, but knew deep down that even if Axton chewed his head off it was only because he deserved in. In all fairness, both of these men were now champions in Carnage and had a lot more going for them than Dom could ever muster on his own. In a way, he wasn't sure why they showed at all, knowing that their friendship was as dead as a deer carcass laying on the side of the road.
Axton thought he’d feel angry again when he saw Dom; he thought he’d get pissed and start on a tirade of how stupid he was being and how wrong he was. However, when he saw his (former?) friend, all he felt was… grief. He was sad. He was hurt, and he was tired. He thought of all the people in his life who’d torn him apart for his stupid mistakes…
… and he decided then that he didn’t want to be one of those people.
When had that ever helped?
Axton approached with his hands in his pockets and Sebastian towing behind, his expression something unreadable between weary, hopeful and pained.
“Hey, Dom.”
His voice cracked a little.
“You look awful.”
Dom couldn't disagree. He looked how he felt. He looked how he wanted to be.
"Yeah..." The word trickled off the tip of his tongue, breathy and with a bit of a sigh. Dom then went for one of the water jugs to rehydrate. "You guys look like you're doing... alright. That's good. I'm glad."
Seb shook his head. “As much as I adore awkward pleasantries like the next person, can we just… Skip ahead to the part where we lay everything out on the table and come to some kind of consensus? I…” He hesitated for an instant, the “what if’s” and “maybe if’s” finally catching up and forming a ball in his throat. “I can’t… I don’t want to do this again. One time and it hurts more than Cas’ low blow.” He wasn’t trying to be funny. The dam containing his mixed bag of feelings threatens to burst and he fights against it as hard as he can. “I want to be a family again.”
“I know,” Axton said, his voice taut, as though he had something caught in his throat. “Gimme a sec, Seb, this is… this is kinda hard for me.”
He was so used to covering up his discomfort with humour or deflection--every single nerve in his body was screaming at him to do that now. He wanted to talk about anything but the real reason they were here… but Sebastian was right. He knew Sebastian was right.
He couldn’t help but note the irony that Hawke was the one being all grown-up and mature right now, despite his reputation.
Axton drew a breath, centering himself, and moved to sit on the ringside. “So…”
He folded his arms over the middle rope, looking at Dom. His heart felt like a sparrow frantically trying to escape a cage.
“... All that stuff you said about me, in that promo a while back… that hurt pretty bad, y’know.”
"...yeah."
Dom stood with his head lowered, his eyes affixed to the canvas beneath his feet. He couldn't stand to look at him with what he was feeling inside. It wasn't the anger/rage that had once consumed him.
"What can I say? It was... how I felt at the time. But I know it was misguided, immature."
Dom wiped his lip and shrugged his shoulders.
"I fucked up, Ax... I regret that I hurt you," he turned towards Sebastian as well, "both."
Axton casts a look in Sebastian’s direction, then down at his shoes, dangling from the apron.
“I’m not gonna act like I didn’t fuck up too,” he admitted, shoulders sinking. “Like I said before… I know I was coming from a bad place when I pulled you on board. I was being selfish and dealing with some heartbreak in a pretty messed up way. But I still meant what I said about you back then… how I looked up to you for the way you handled your own business, and staying organized, and keeping your shit together. It’s something I just can’t do, I’ve always been shit at it… that’s why I need a manager and an agent and friends I can lean on sometimes. I never wanted to act like I was the boss of anybody, or better than anybody… I wanted us all to be on equal footing from the start.”
He smiled wryly.
“Maybe The Entourage was a stupid name… kinda misleading. But I just thought it sounded cool. I’m dumb as a box of rocks, and I own that--I never had a motivation beyond, ‘hey, that sounds like a dope name for a team of stylish cool guys’. I might’ve started this stable for the wrong reasons, but I’m working hard to make it right.”
His voice tightened, swallowing around a knot in his throat. He couldn’t look at either of them.
“Honestly I’m a bit freaked out that… that maybe it’s too late. Maybe I’m too late again. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“We’re all here though right?” Sebastian’s voice carries with it a sweet note of hope. Something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. “That HAS to count for something. All three of us, we each had a reason for not showing up but we did. For every reason I can come up with to turn my back, I think of two better ones to give this my all.” He shrugs, turning his head to hide the tears that have threatened to fall since this whole mess began. “I’m not going anywhere…” He sniffles, falling silent. This was the first time he’d been together with Ax and Dom without the two trying to kill each other in a very long time. His thoughts jumbled, he shrugs again helplessly.
"Seabs is right, and you're not dumb." Dom said after taking a step forward to close the gaps in their little circle. "We're all just different. We come from different places, different backgrounds, different lifestyles... and there's nothing wrong with that. You didn't look to form this group with people who were exactly like you," Dom then turns to Seb, "and you didn't come this far for nothing. The thing that made us special is that we all brought something different to the table and we were all willing to learn from each other. It's on me that I let those differences get to me. It's my fault for thinking that I was the odd man out."
Axton considered cracking a joke--that he was in fact, stupid, and wore that stupidity like a badge of honour, thank you very much--but he thought better of it, biting his lower lip instead. Don’t deflect. Don’t change the subject. Grow up a little.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “You’re on the ball, Sebby. We’re all here. We all came. And that means we all wanna make it right.”
He looked to Dom, drawing in a breath.
“Hey, man… I meant what I said earlier. That we’d be here when you were ready. I get that you’re proud of what you’ve been able to do on your own… and shit, you should be. But if I grew even one new brain cell since I got here, that’s the one that knows it’s not weak to lean on people who care about you. Frig, it’s usually harder than going it alone. I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t hashed out my hangups with Jon’s help beforehand…”
He took another deep breath, looking down. “...Truth is I got angry because I’m scared of losing another friend. Just like I got angry when I thought I’d lost Sil… I-I’ve been, ditched a lot, in my life. I know I’m all over the place and I can be a lot to handle. I try to just be the fun guy, you know…? And that means I sidestep when things get serious and I let it get so bad that things fall apart. I… really, really don’t wanna let that happen again, this time. So with that in mind… could you tell us what’s going on? For real?”
Sebastian’s eyes tell the story of hope that is going through his head. However, he stays silent for now, instead coming up next to Ax in order to show some kind of support. He loved both these people very much, but he’d be damned if he saw anyone get hurt tonight.
On the other hand, if there was anything that Dom would admittedly shy away from, it would be when shit got real. Although he had no qualms about kicking someone in the face, it scared him to death to have a face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversation with them. The sweat in his clothes turned cold; at least to him anyway.
"I uhm, I guess..." He tapped the canvas with his foot. "I guess I just felt like I wasn't good enough. I mean, I try to be realistic about things. I felt like that I, uhh, didn't quite fit in, ya know? Like not in a bad way, not that I didn't want to be a part of the group, because I totally did. But when I compared myself to Jon, I just saw someone who was the perfect piece to finish the puzzle, and not some messed-up piece from a completely different puzzle trying to jam it's way in."
Dom sighed as he looked up at them.
"I'm not sure if this is making any sense to you guys. I'm sorry. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I were you guys, I'd pick Jonathan Willis over me nine times out of eight. It's just a fact, and plus, not only is he a better fit for the group, you all just seem happier as you were, is what I'm saying, more successful too."
“Who said anything about replacing you? Like…” Sebastian looked helplessly over at Axton. “We weren’t going to replace anyone were we?”
Axton shook his head fervently, but the look on his face made it clear that he understood exactly how Dom was feeling. Like he’d been there a dozen times.
“Never crossed my mind.”
Axton sighed, craning his head back to look up at Dom, his brow knit with worry.
“I love Jon… I really do. He makes me want to be better. He’s good for me. But he can’t replace you, Thriller. I wanted you on board for a reason, and Jon doesn’t have the background, the skillset, the personality I saw in you that made me like you in the first place. He’s a whole different person--not a better version of you. And yeah, Rock Lobster’s been doing awesome, and I love working with my bae--but that doesn’t mean the Entourage would be better with Jon. Because then it wouldn’t be the Entourage anymore.”
He tried to grin, though it was a bit pained.
“I was stoked to team with you, man… The Natural-Born Thrillers. And I wanted to keep up the Cool Patrol with Sebby. We’d be able to shuffle any way we wanted... But then fuckin’ St. James stuck his dick in the punch bowl, and he split you off from us on purpose and made you doubt us. He gave you all that stuff, and even well-off as I am I couldn’t keep up, and you wouldn’t take it from me anyway… My team-up with Jon ended up working really well, but I missed you guys so damn much.”
His voice cracked, looking between them.
“I saw you two tearing it up as a team and honestly I was scared you’d ditch me when you realized you didn’t need me anymore. If Sebby hadn’t kept reaching out to me I might’ve kept thinking that way.”
Dom cracked a bit of a smile, the bubble finally bursting, if only shyly and softly.
"Well, we all know that Seb's the real hero here," Dom says as he gives Seb a firm pat on the back of his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Seabs?"
Sebastian's eyes widened. "Me? Leader? That isn't me…" Of all the things he pictured this night to bring this was the last thing he imagined. "I appreciate it, but this isn't even *my* group." He looked helplessly at Axton.
"You know, I know we didn't... don't do the whole 'leader' thing, but if I had to cast a vote on it, I'd say that you're the heart and soul of this group Mr. Hawke. Out of all of us you're the real compass, bro."
"I…" Seb paused to cough into his sleeve, though everyone present knew he was trying to stifle the happy sob building in his throat. "I don't know what to say. I'm honored…"
“Yeah.” Axton laughs, his eyes a bit glassy. “Shit, Sebby. The way the Legion probably sees it, Dom’s got an iron rod up his ass, I’m an unhinged lunatic, and then there’s you, balancing us out like an adorable fulcrum in the middle of a bullshit see-saw.”
Dom's eyes go as wide as saucers. "...I've got a what up my where now?" He shakes his head sarcastically. "Don't you go all hittin' on me now. You've got a boyfriend, remember? And I... shit... I've actually got a girlfriend now too, so if you wanna kiss me you have to at least buy me dinner or something first. Oh, and you're definitely buying. But then you'd have to answer to Isla."
“Boyfriends, plural,” Axton corrected, his shoulders starting to relax. He even shot Dom a little grin. “I’m still poly as hell, so if you’re ever curious and Isla’s into the idea, hey--I like women too, and Isla’s a fuckin’ bombshell, so that offer still stands.”
His expression softened to a smile. “But also… congrats, man. You two are adorable. I’m glad you got something like that going for you.” A pause, and then… “So… about St James, and the truck..."
Dom rolled his eyes.
"Speaking of things that should be shoved up people's asses," He scoffed and spit down onto the canvas. "I could park a semi up good ol' Christopher's backdoor sideways and still not feel like we're even. If I had it my way, I'd kick his head clean off those smug little shoulders of his. Maybe set up some pins first, see if I can get a strike. What do you think, Seb?"
Sebastian nodded, still stunned that not only was The Entourage back together, but he was now their anchor. Words failed him as he tried to speak, but he was finally able to squeak out a response after several tries. "Yeah. Yeah! Boss guy has been up our collective ass for no reason, it's about time we get our revenge. At the very least kick him several times. "
“Or just once, very hard, in the face,” Axton said, sticking his tongue out. “See if he likes how it feels.”
Seb laughed as the tension from the past several months dropped from his shoulders. “I guess the only thing now is what’s next?”
Dom raised his finger, his eyes meeting both Seb’s and then Axton’s.
“I think I have a few ideas.” He pulled the other two in close for a huddle as the sun set over the horizon. "The word going around is that C$J wants to take you guys out. I'm pretty sure he wants me to finish the job."
Dom motioned towards Ax specifically.
"So I say we catch him with his pants down," Dom said with a bit of a smirk. "Make him think that he's getting exactly what he wants... until of course... he doesn't."
Axton’s shocked expression slowly melted into an impish grin.
“We’ve got some planning to do.”
~These events take place before Chaos 107~
Axton Gunn pulled his rental car into the driveway of the suburban home, sighing as he turned the ignition off. For a moment, he just stared through the windshield, very much aware of Sebastian in the passenger seat beside him--his dogs had been left at daycare, and he was already missing their familiar presence. Whenever he was unsure about something, having them nearby was reassuring. But he had to focus. He’d promised Sebastian he would.
He didn’t want to do this--not really--and yet… there were too many voices on his mind spurring him on. Silvio was counting on him to keep trying to better himself. Jon wanted him to pursue his own happiness, and he couldn’t do that with this sword dangling over his neck. Sebastian? He’d been put through too much. He could only imagine the stress he was under, dealing with his immediate family, with Frankie, and his second family crumbling like this. And Dom…?
… He missed Dom. He missed Isla. This might be his last chance to avoid losing them… he couldn’t afford to throw it away. His heart gave a dull, twisting throb.
“Okay,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door. The makeshift ring in which they’d once honed their work together was only a few steps away. “Let’s head back.”
“It feels like it’s been forever…” Sebastian’s gaze is lost as the last few people that used the ring clear out for the evening as the sun dips beneath the horizon. It felt like an eternity ago that Sebastian, Dom, and Ax were all training to become a unit. To become The Entourage. Seb smiles and shakes his head, getting out of the car and following Ax.
Axton led the way back along the side of the house, his pulse starting to race with his nerves. Everything he’d thought he was going to say flew out of his head as he rounded the corner, and his eyes settled on the silhouette of Dominick Strife, cast in a half-glow of warm setting sunlight where he stood ringside.
Swallowing the stone in his throat, he looked to Sebastian for assurance, and then stepped out across the backyard lawn toward his estranged stablemate.
Dom looked on as they approached, his figure appearing to them as bloated at first, and only until they got closer did they realize that he was wearing multiple sets of sweat clothes encapsulated by a green jumpsuit. He had been there for some time, obvious by the beats of sweat that dripped from every pore in his face and from the tips of his black hair. Even the jumpsuit appeared soaked, as if the empty gallon jugs of water resting in the corner of the shed had their contents emptied on top of him instead of having been leaked through from the inside out.
The truth was that Dom had a lot on his mind, too. He had earned the right to challenge again for another Carnage championship but was unsuccessful in every opportunity before. Each of them stung, but hurt in different ways than the other. The anxiety of failure had plagued his mind so badly that self-torture masquerading as practice seemed the only viable release of this energy. It was the only chance he had at getting a good night's sleep; and if he couldn't sleep, he certainly couldn't beat the Avenger when it mattered most.
Yet what Dom did not realize was that the amount of stress he had been under had been largely self-inflicted, and it was because of these championship opportunities that he let more important things slip away.
Seeing Sebastian and Axton approaching together was nerve-wracking. He wasn't sure if Jon was going to show as well, and wouldn't blame him either way. Dom was expecting the worst, but knew deep down that even if Axton chewed his head off it was only because he deserved in. In all fairness, both of these men were now champions in Carnage and had a lot more going for them than Dom could ever muster on his own. In a way, he wasn't sure why they showed at all, knowing that their friendship was as dead as a deer carcass laying on the side of the road.
Axton thought he’d feel angry again when he saw Dom; he thought he’d get pissed and start on a tirade of how stupid he was being and how wrong he was. However, when he saw his (former?) friend, all he felt was… grief. He was sad. He was hurt, and he was tired. He thought of all the people in his life who’d torn him apart for his stupid mistakes…
… and he decided then that he didn’t want to be one of those people.
When had that ever helped?
Axton approached with his hands in his pockets and Sebastian towing behind, his expression something unreadable between weary, hopeful and pained.
“Hey, Dom.”
His voice cracked a little.
“You look awful.”
Dom couldn't disagree. He looked how he felt. He looked how he wanted to be.
"Yeah..." The word trickled off the tip of his tongue, breathy and with a bit of a sigh. Dom then went for one of the water jugs to rehydrate. "You guys look like you're doing... alright. That's good. I'm glad."
Seb shook his head. “As much as I adore awkward pleasantries like the next person, can we just… Skip ahead to the part where we lay everything out on the table and come to some kind of consensus? I…” He hesitated for an instant, the “what if’s” and “maybe if’s” finally catching up and forming a ball in his throat. “I can’t… I don’t want to do this again. One time and it hurts more than Cas’ low blow.” He wasn’t trying to be funny. The dam containing his mixed bag of feelings threatens to burst and he fights against it as hard as he can. “I want to be a family again.”
“I know,” Axton said, his voice taut, as though he had something caught in his throat. “Gimme a sec, Seb, this is… this is kinda hard for me.”
He was so used to covering up his discomfort with humour or deflection--every single nerve in his body was screaming at him to do that now. He wanted to talk about anything but the real reason they were here… but Sebastian was right. He knew Sebastian was right.
He couldn’t help but note the irony that Hawke was the one being all grown-up and mature right now, despite his reputation.
Axton drew a breath, centering himself, and moved to sit on the ringside. “So…”
He folded his arms over the middle rope, looking at Dom. His heart felt like a sparrow frantically trying to escape a cage.
“... All that stuff you said about me, in that promo a while back… that hurt pretty bad, y’know.”
"...yeah."
Dom stood with his head lowered, his eyes affixed to the canvas beneath his feet. He couldn't stand to look at him with what he was feeling inside. It wasn't the anger/rage that had once consumed him.
"What can I say? It was... how I felt at the time. But I know it was misguided, immature."
Dom wiped his lip and shrugged his shoulders.
"I fucked up, Ax... I regret that I hurt you," he turned towards Sebastian as well, "both."
Axton casts a look in Sebastian’s direction, then down at his shoes, dangling from the apron.
“I’m not gonna act like I didn’t fuck up too,” he admitted, shoulders sinking. “Like I said before… I know I was coming from a bad place when I pulled you on board. I was being selfish and dealing with some heartbreak in a pretty messed up way. But I still meant what I said about you back then… how I looked up to you for the way you handled your own business, and staying organized, and keeping your shit together. It’s something I just can’t do, I’ve always been shit at it… that’s why I need a manager and an agent and friends I can lean on sometimes. I never wanted to act like I was the boss of anybody, or better than anybody… I wanted us all to be on equal footing from the start.”
He smiled wryly.
“Maybe The Entourage was a stupid name… kinda misleading. But I just thought it sounded cool. I’m dumb as a box of rocks, and I own that--I never had a motivation beyond, ‘hey, that sounds like a dope name for a team of stylish cool guys’. I might’ve started this stable for the wrong reasons, but I’m working hard to make it right.”
His voice tightened, swallowing around a knot in his throat. He couldn’t look at either of them.
“Honestly I’m a bit freaked out that… that maybe it’s too late. Maybe I’m too late again. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“We’re all here though right?” Sebastian’s voice carries with it a sweet note of hope. Something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. “That HAS to count for something. All three of us, we each had a reason for not showing up but we did. For every reason I can come up with to turn my back, I think of two better ones to give this my all.” He shrugs, turning his head to hide the tears that have threatened to fall since this whole mess began. “I’m not going anywhere…” He sniffles, falling silent. This was the first time he’d been together with Ax and Dom without the two trying to kill each other in a very long time. His thoughts jumbled, he shrugs again helplessly.
"Seabs is right, and you're not dumb." Dom said after taking a step forward to close the gaps in their little circle. "We're all just different. We come from different places, different backgrounds, different lifestyles... and there's nothing wrong with that. You didn't look to form this group with people who were exactly like you," Dom then turns to Seb, "and you didn't come this far for nothing. The thing that made us special is that we all brought something different to the table and we were all willing to learn from each other. It's on me that I let those differences get to me. It's my fault for thinking that I was the odd man out."
Axton considered cracking a joke--that he was in fact, stupid, and wore that stupidity like a badge of honour, thank you very much--but he thought better of it, biting his lower lip instead. Don’t deflect. Don’t change the subject. Grow up a little.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “You’re on the ball, Sebby. We’re all here. We all came. And that means we all wanna make it right.”
He looked to Dom, drawing in a breath.
“Hey, man… I meant what I said earlier. That we’d be here when you were ready. I get that you’re proud of what you’ve been able to do on your own… and shit, you should be. But if I grew even one new brain cell since I got here, that’s the one that knows it’s not weak to lean on people who care about you. Frig, it’s usually harder than going it alone. I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t hashed out my hangups with Jon’s help beforehand…”
He took another deep breath, looking down. “...Truth is I got angry because I’m scared of losing another friend. Just like I got angry when I thought I’d lost Sil… I-I’ve been, ditched a lot, in my life. I know I’m all over the place and I can be a lot to handle. I try to just be the fun guy, you know…? And that means I sidestep when things get serious and I let it get so bad that things fall apart. I… really, really don’t wanna let that happen again, this time. So with that in mind… could you tell us what’s going on? For real?”
Sebastian’s eyes tell the story of hope that is going through his head. However, he stays silent for now, instead coming up next to Ax in order to show some kind of support. He loved both these people very much, but he’d be damned if he saw anyone get hurt tonight.
On the other hand, if there was anything that Dom would admittedly shy away from, it would be when shit got real. Although he had no qualms about kicking someone in the face, it scared him to death to have a face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversation with them. The sweat in his clothes turned cold; at least to him anyway.
"I uhm, I guess..." He tapped the canvas with his foot. "I guess I just felt like I wasn't good enough. I mean, I try to be realistic about things. I felt like that I, uhh, didn't quite fit in, ya know? Like not in a bad way, not that I didn't want to be a part of the group, because I totally did. But when I compared myself to Jon, I just saw someone who was the perfect piece to finish the puzzle, and not some messed-up piece from a completely different puzzle trying to jam it's way in."
Dom sighed as he looked up at them.
"I'm not sure if this is making any sense to you guys. I'm sorry. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I were you guys, I'd pick Jonathan Willis over me nine times out of eight. It's just a fact, and plus, not only is he a better fit for the group, you all just seem happier as you were, is what I'm saying, more successful too."
“Who said anything about replacing you? Like…” Sebastian looked helplessly over at Axton. “We weren’t going to replace anyone were we?”
Axton shook his head fervently, but the look on his face made it clear that he understood exactly how Dom was feeling. Like he’d been there a dozen times.
“Never crossed my mind.”
Axton sighed, craning his head back to look up at Dom, his brow knit with worry.
“I love Jon… I really do. He makes me want to be better. He’s good for me. But he can’t replace you, Thriller. I wanted you on board for a reason, and Jon doesn’t have the background, the skillset, the personality I saw in you that made me like you in the first place. He’s a whole different person--not a better version of you. And yeah, Rock Lobster’s been doing awesome, and I love working with my bae--but that doesn’t mean the Entourage would be better with Jon. Because then it wouldn’t be the Entourage anymore.”
He tried to grin, though it was a bit pained.
“I was stoked to team with you, man… The Natural-Born Thrillers. And I wanted to keep up the Cool Patrol with Sebby. We’d be able to shuffle any way we wanted... But then fuckin’ St. James stuck his dick in the punch bowl, and he split you off from us on purpose and made you doubt us. He gave you all that stuff, and even well-off as I am I couldn’t keep up, and you wouldn’t take it from me anyway… My team-up with Jon ended up working really well, but I missed you guys so damn much.”
His voice cracked, looking between them.
“I saw you two tearing it up as a team and honestly I was scared you’d ditch me when you realized you didn’t need me anymore. If Sebby hadn’t kept reaching out to me I might’ve kept thinking that way.”
Dom cracked a bit of a smile, the bubble finally bursting, if only shyly and softly.
"Well, we all know that Seb's the real hero here," Dom says as he gives Seb a firm pat on the back of his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Seabs?"
Sebastian's eyes widened. "Me? Leader? That isn't me…" Of all the things he pictured this night to bring this was the last thing he imagined. "I appreciate it, but this isn't even *my* group." He looked helplessly at Axton.
"You know, I know we didn't... don't do the whole 'leader' thing, but if I had to cast a vote on it, I'd say that you're the heart and soul of this group Mr. Hawke. Out of all of us you're the real compass, bro."
"I…" Seb paused to cough into his sleeve, though everyone present knew he was trying to stifle the happy sob building in his throat. "I don't know what to say. I'm honored…"
“Yeah.” Axton laughs, his eyes a bit glassy. “Shit, Sebby. The way the Legion probably sees it, Dom’s got an iron rod up his ass, I’m an unhinged lunatic, and then there’s you, balancing us out like an adorable fulcrum in the middle of a bullshit see-saw.”
Dom's eyes go as wide as saucers. "...I've got a what up my where now?" He shakes his head sarcastically. "Don't you go all hittin' on me now. You've got a boyfriend, remember? And I... shit... I've actually got a girlfriend now too, so if you wanna kiss me you have to at least buy me dinner or something first. Oh, and you're definitely buying. But then you'd have to answer to Isla."
“Boyfriends, plural,” Axton corrected, his shoulders starting to relax. He even shot Dom a little grin. “I’m still poly as hell, so if you’re ever curious and Isla’s into the idea, hey--I like women too, and Isla’s a fuckin’ bombshell, so that offer still stands.”
His expression softened to a smile. “But also… congrats, man. You two are adorable. I’m glad you got something like that going for you.” A pause, and then… “So… about St James, and the truck..."
Dom rolled his eyes.
"Speaking of things that should be shoved up people's asses," He scoffed and spit down onto the canvas. "I could park a semi up good ol' Christopher's backdoor sideways and still not feel like we're even. If I had it my way, I'd kick his head clean off those smug little shoulders of his. Maybe set up some pins first, see if I can get a strike. What do you think, Seb?"
Sebastian nodded, still stunned that not only was The Entourage back together, but he was now their anchor. Words failed him as he tried to speak, but he was finally able to squeak out a response after several tries. "Yeah. Yeah! Boss guy has been up our collective ass for no reason, it's about time we get our revenge. At the very least kick him several times. "
“Or just once, very hard, in the face,” Axton said, sticking his tongue out. “See if he likes how it feels.”
Seb laughed as the tension from the past several months dropped from his shoulders. “I guess the only thing now is what’s next?”
Dom raised his finger, his eyes meeting both Seb’s and then Axton’s.
“I think I have a few ideas.” He pulled the other two in close for a huddle as the sun set over the horizon. "The word going around is that C$J wants to take you guys out. I'm pretty sure he wants me to finish the job."
Dom motioned towards Ax specifically.
"So I say we catch him with his pants down," Dom said with a bit of a smirk. "Make him think that he's getting exactly what he wants... until of course... he doesn't."
Axton’s shocked expression slowly melted into an impish grin.
“We’ve got some planning to do.”