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WHO: The Lynch brothers
WHERE: De Chima, an honest to god ice cream store
WHEN: Wednesday. Because.
WHAT: Ronan finally asks his dumb but sweet little brother about Dorian Gray
WARNINGS: Ronan Lynch

[He brought Matthew out here because Matthew, despite having not a single bone in his body predisposed to things like lying, was also cursed with an unfortunate affliction, which was the attention span of a gnat.

Or so Ronan figured.

In any case, usually feeding him at the same time that one asked him questions kept him focused, as he generally had less reason to wander away because he saw something shiny or a friend distracted him. And ice cream is the best thing, because it required constant vigilance to make sure it wouldn't just melt.]

Chocolate okay?

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[ Ronan has this all figured out, but all Matthew picks up on is the "free ice cream" part. ]

Chocolate's good!

[ Anything else would have been equally good, by his standards. He stands next to Ronan with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet in a pleasant, expecting sort of way, and flashing the boy behind the counter a cheery smile. Even though he has his own job, and actually works, Matthew will likely never grow out of being treated every once in a while. ]

[He watches that and pays - he'll pay for Matthew always, even when he's the one who's relatively broke. Relatively, he thinks, because he may gotten a bundle of cash from a dude who called him over and said he owed him from when they raced in March.

Which, well.

Ronan snarled but kept the money, because the guy took off before he could give it back.]

Here.

[He hands it over and goes to sit with his own cup of mint chocolate.]

[ Matthew gives the employee an appreciative wave and follows Ronan like a duckling, his mouth full of ice cream even before he takes a seat. ]

Mm-- It's good! How's yours?

[ He hasn't yet bothered to wonder where Ronan's money might have come from. Or why they came out here today. ]

Fine.

[He eats some of it, but then he seems to ease up a little. Relax. And then:]

Why didn't you tell me Dorian Gray said that shit to you?

[ Matthew scrunches his face like he just bit into something unpleasant. It's not the ice cream. ]

Which stuff?

[ He's not actually trying to deflect the question. ]

He says things to everybody. I thought Gansey warned you about him.

[ Gansey definitely warned Ronan, right? ]

That bullshit, Matthew.

When you first got here.

[He doesn't sound very happy, but Matthew should know it's not aimed at him.]

Oh.

[ Oh, that.

Matthew takes another bite of ice cream, giving himself a little time to think about the answer. Not a lie, of course. He needs some time to figure out the truth. ]

I thought Gansey told you all the important stuff. And it was months ago.

[ He gives a little shrug, not because he doesn't care, but because he really didn't think to mention it, though apparently he was supposed to. ]

Wait, you didn't see it, did you?

Gansey showed me.

[Which means that Gray is a marked man.]

[ Gansey, why. ]

He's just an-- an a-hole. [ He shakes his head. ] Not Gansey.

[ Matthew tries to remember exactly what happened during that conversation, aside from Dorian being a huge jerk. Trying to be a helpful little brother, and maybe missing the point that bullying the little brother, rather than being dangerously nosy, is the reason that Dorian's on the older brother's shit list. ]

He doesn't actually know anything about Dad.

Of course he doesn't shit about dad.

[Ronan says it with a slight hiss. Like a snake.]

I mean the way he treated you, shitlord.

[Ronan.]

[ Matthew opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. ]

He's like that with everybody. All the time.

When he found out I've got another power he said I should let him push me around to see if he could make me use it again.

[ Matthew still doesn't know how it works, exactly. Also he's only telling Ronan about that because he's learned just now that he's supposed to inform his brother about previous bullyings, though Matthew himself was quite content to leave those events behind where he no longer had to think about them and--

Ohhh, wait, shit. Ronan's going to fight Dorian Gray now, isn't he? ]

[With the way that Ronan's fists are tight and tightening against themselves, that's probably a yes. Except Ronan knows how to win this fight.]

If he ever talks to you again, let me know.

Okay, [ Matthew promises, because Ronan is asking him and he can't say no. Ronan probably knows better what should be done in this situation anyway, right? Matthew also can't ask him not to pick a fight with Dorian (who deserves it), but he's a little nervous now. ]

He was nosing around about me missing work and stuff.

Gansey told me that, too.

[He stirs his melting ice cream.]

It's me he wants. It's always me they want. But Greenmantle was smart enough to not fuck with you, at least.

[ Matthew almost misses it, scooping out another bite of his own ice cream and trying to shake off his worries about Ronan and Dorian Gray and Dorian Gray possibly finding out what Matthew is (please, God, let that never happen.) But then the name sinks in, snagging at his attention. ]

Greenmantle? You mean the Latin teacher?

[ Why would a Latin teacher be after Ronan? Beyond the reasons that teachers were always after Ronan. ]

[He's quiet for a long time.

Yeah.

The Latin teacher.

[He frets about this a bit.]

If he ever shows up here, don't speak to him. Promise.

[ Matthew watches his brother uncertainly. ]

Right, okay, I promise.

[ And then there's the moment where he hasn't yet decided what to say next, or whether to say anything at all. It would be perfectly easy for Matthew to let it go now, accept the instruction and let Ronan handle the rest of it.

But something just barely tips him in the other direction. ]

Are you going to tell me why?

[ The question isn't loaded with any expectations; when he asks, that's all he wants to know: is Ronan going to explain about the Latin teacher or not? ]

[There's quiet. He shouldn't. He should let Matthew live his life comfortably. But he can't.

He can't because he can't keep secrets from him anymore. He promised. All of dad's secrets.]

He had dad killed.

[ He doesn't even understand the meaning of the words at first; it takes time for his expression to go from blank and mildly confused to something crumpled.

Of course he knows that their father was murdered, and that an actual person must have done it. Someone made the decision to have him killed, to rip him away from his family and everything that he had made just because he could make it in a way that no one else could. And Matthew figured that person or someone like them must still be out there somewhere because of what happened to Declan, and because it was still so necessary to keep Ronan's abilities a secret.

But Greenmantle wasn't out there; he was right there, at Aglionby.

And Ronan-- oh, god. ]

You-- you were in his class.

[ Matthew had no idea. He wants desperately to bury his head in his brother's shoulder now but there's a table between them, so he settles for leaning in and clutching Ronan's arm instead. Distress is written on every soft curve that makes up his face. ]

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