xp_logs | Matt and Topaz {Backdated)

Topaz apologizes to the person who ended up with the brunt of her non-coping. It doesn't go horribly. Backdated to October 12.

Topaz sighed as she made her way down to the archery range. Owning up and apologizing for being stupid wasn't her favorite thing in the world, but she at least owed it to the people she'd been weird at to make an attempt. And Clint was by far the easiest to find.

At least he should've been, but as she approached the archery range she realized that definitely wasn't Clint standing there.

Matt didn't get out to the archery range nearly as often as his brother, he didn't have the passion or the eyesight his brother had for the weapon or the sport. Still though, it was hard not to be brothers with Clint and not at least fool around with a bow and arrow. And sometimes, it was nice to get out there and shoot a few. Therefore, Matt was geared up for archery, guard on his arm as he loosed another arrow towards the target, a small metronome sitting below it, it's tick assisting his powers.

Topaz froze for a moment, rocking back and forth on her feet. Well, she did need to talk to Matt too. She'd just been hoping for a little more time to prepare for that one.

Still, couldn't be helped. She was here, might as well. So she took a deep breath, getting within earshot and calling, "Hey."

He'd heard her approach, but hadn't acknowledged it, unsure if she was actually coming to see him or not or something else entirely. Topaz....was an odd, disturbed duck. Hopefully her time away helped. "Hey," Matt replied casually, relaxing his stance and turning towards her. "How's it going?"

"Not bad." She shifted her weight, grimacing a bit as pain shot through her feet. "So uh...how much was that bill I left you with? Don't have the money on me now but I'll pay you back."

Matt huffed slightly, "You don't owe anything," he assured her. The ticket at some greasy spoon wasn't all that important. "What happened to your feet? They're hurting. You should be off them."

"Fine." She'd just slip an envelope with five dollars under his door if he was going to be that way. "Oh, it's nothin'. I ended up on the wrong side of some fire. They're healin'."

That would cause some hurt. "That doesn't sound like 'nothing.'" And he should know. He was king of that. "Sit," it wasn't a request, "Don't make me threaten to duct tape you to the couch. I will. And trust me, it's not fun," because he didn't know that first hand. Nope. Never. Nuh-uh.

Topaz rolled her eyes but made a show of sitting, careful to make a lot of noise for him to hear it. "There. Happy?"

"Very," Matt trotted over to the metronome under the target and restarted it before heading back to Topaz, knocking an arrow and letting it fly. He wasn't anywhere close to Clint's level of expertise, but he wasn't bad either. His arrow hit close to the center of the target. "I'm not very good at sitting and resting either. Especially when I'm hurting and trying to pretend it's all find. Hence, duct tape. If you use enough of it, it's quite effective."

"Duct tape really does fix everything," Topaz said dryly. "Who knew."

"Any engineering or science student or anyone who has ever seen Mythbusters," was the smart remark. "And my dad. He used to duct tape my shoes."

"I'll have to start carrying it around with me." Topaz's eyes drifted to look at the targets across the grass from them. "Get into enough trouble, maybe it'll help."

"You never know," Matt smirked, lined up his next shot, and took it, "Can't hurt with the rest of the craziness."

"Craziness? No idea what you're talkin' about." Topaz watched the arrow soar through the air before her eyes slid back to Matt. "Listen...I'm sorry. About the way I acted."

Turning back to face Topaz, Matt shrugged, "You were dealing with shit. Or really, not dealing with shit. It happens," he understood because he was a champion at not dealing and recognized the trait in others. "Apology accepted. I assume you're dealing better now?"

"I am, yeah," Topaz said quietly. "Guess I just really needed a break from this place. Been here for a while, it starts to wear on you."

"Why do you think I only come on the weekends?" Matt asked. Then again, he had a lot of reasons not to be here all the time. "You know, if you do want to get away for a night or two, you're welcome at my apartment in the city. I have a couch that's pretty comfortable."

That may have been a little too much to start. But Topaz filed the information away all the same, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the offer."

"Anytime," Matt replied, loosing another arrow and getting back to his archery practice.