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xp_logsMatt and Sam get lunch in the wake of Sam starting to date Matt's brother.
"Hey, Sam, you okay to drive?" Matt asked, meeting him at the front door, "If not, we can take my bike." They were headed into Salem Center for lunch. Sort of a "meet my brother's boyfriend" kind of thing, because while they'd met before, it was very short and in a different context.
"I don't own a car." Sam said, as evenly as possible, trying not to stare at Matt's glasses. "But maybe we could walk? Lil' exercise never killed nobody."
To say he was nervous was an understatement. He took a steadying breath and spared a hopeful thought that he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth at any point during lunch. He knew he would, but it was always nice to look on the bright side of things.
"You want to date my brother and you're scared of my driving?" Matt shook his head, clearly amused as he led Sam towards the garage and indicated the Peg board of keys, "If there's keys, you can borrow it. Just sign it out in the log thing," he never borrowed cars, though his bike was in the corner, along with helmets.
Sam grabbed some keys and signed them out. “Ain’t afraid for me.” He said. “I’m nigh invulnerable when I need to be- but the likelihood of some sorta crash ain’t sittin’ too good with the idea of lunch.”
"There are several in the mansion car pool," Matt informed him, "But I've also got a motorcycle," not legally, but no one would grant a license to him for good reason. "It's too far to walk."
“Well then if you’re willing to show me where the mansion car pool is, I’m happy to drive.” Sam said. “Or I could fly us. Happy to do either.”
Sam clicked the unlock button and looked for the car that lit up. As he got the seat and mirrors adjusted he laughed absently. “Don’t think I’ve ever driven a car this small- we got one o’ those fifteen passenger vans and a terrible ol’ truck back home."
"I drove my roommates car years ago in college, it was an empty parking lot and I don't think I went above 15 miles an hour," Matt laughed, "But I joined a biker gang for... reasons. And had to learn to ride a motorcycle for it, and discovered I liked it. So now I have a bike," under his brother's name and with no license or insurance, but whatever. "I use public transit mostly, but it's fun around Salem sometimes." He turned on his phone GPS and shut off his airpods so Sam would have directions.
“Thanks.” Sam said. “So….. I ain’t done the whole meet the family thing…..you supposed to give me a shovel talk?”
He’d given plenty of shovel talks trying to keep his classmates away from Paige after she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested. And notably once to an awful boy in Mel’s Sunday school class who just wouldn’t take no for an answer. But he’d never been brought to meet family. He wondered if Matt offering to drive had been the intro to the shovel talk.
Turning to Sam, Matt raised an eyebrow over his sunglasses, "Do I need to?" he asked, voice dropping. "My brother is an adult and not without resources. If you hurt him, he'll mop the floor with you. And if, for whatever reason, he chooses not to, I'm not without my own talents. It's shovel math. I'm just interested in getting to know you better."
"You do not." Sam said. "But I am the oldest of nine with mostly sisters of datin' age so.... I've got one prepared. I'm interested in gettin to know you better too, beyond just what Clint says."
Chuckling, Matt added, "My brother is far, far from a teenager and never had any virtue to maintain. Unlike sisters, so I'm told. Our dads only adopted the two of us. I was a surprise actually, they'd intended to stop with Clint," and he was grateful they didn't.
"I was a surprise my folks discovered their senior year of highschool." Sam said. "And they probably wouldn't'a stopped if Daddy's black lung hadn't gotten so bad on account of his asthma..." Sam shuddered a bit as he drove. "I don't even wanna think about there bein' more than nine of us. 'M exhausted enough as it is."
Matt chuckled, "My dad, Andre, was the oldest of 13. And my birth dad was his much younger brother. After he passed, I was in foster care until they could locate family to take me," that it took two years said a lot, too. Andre never said anything, but Matt was pretty sure they'd reached out to other Murdock's before Andre. "Both were the black sheep of the family, I think. For different reasons. I can't imagine having that much family, especially not siblings. Sounds crazy."
“I pert near raised most of ‘em.” Sam said. “Most of the time I feel closer to Clint’s age than my own……kids."
Pert. Well. Clearly Sam wasn't from New York. That was known and obvious, but it was interesting how he spoke sometimes, his word choices. Matt had almost double minored in linguistics and this sort of thing was interesting. "Which is part of why I tease him about the age difference, but he acts 20 half the time. Our dad's have a large age gap than you do anyways."
“Yeah?” Sam said. “He really does though! If he and my sister Mel get in kahoots I’m a goner….. not that I don’t want ‘im to meet my kin but…. I got enough younger siblings stirrin’ up trouble without him joinin’ them and I don’t have the kind of influence anymore to get ‘em outta jail. Blowing up a mine shaft really ruins your reputation apparently.”
"I'm going to point out that I'm a lawyer," Matt replied, indicating that they needed to turn, "I'm not licensed in Kentucky, but I can make inquiries. I might have some other options, depending on need. Additionally, one of my boyfriend's and two of my girlfriend's are also lawyers, so we've got a wide reach."
Sam blinked rapidly and swallowed the urge to say 'that's the kind of relationship that gets you written into a Reba song.' Instead he tried his best to hide the surprise in his voice. "Wow- that's uh- a lot a' book readin' between ya. My little sister's first one in the whole damn family to go to to college. She's doin somethin' with brains, I can't keep it straight but she's brilliant so she's liable to get a Nobel prize or somethin'."
Sam then shrugged as he realized why Matt brought up that he was a lawyer. "I appreciate it but the Cabots bought their way into the courthouse and I ain't gettin' no favors there on account of them wantin' me dead n'all....Thanks. If you uh... ever have need for it I know US labor law upside down and backwards. But you're a lawyer so you probably don't need me for that."
It was a relationship that was likely in a Reba song. It worked well for him though. "Congrats to her. If you're interested in college, or a tech school, whatever, there are options, as well. Xavier's opens up a lot of opportunity for people. It's one of the things I appreciate about it, coming from the background I do," he paused as they parked, then continued once they were out, "I don't like bullies. And I don't like people that buy their way into power. Now I want to take the Kentucky bar."
"I've thought about it. Maybe social work. But I'm happy where I am for now." Sam followed Matt down the sidewalk and stuck his hands in his pockets as they walked. "If you wanna take on the Cabot family more power to ya. I got a reputation back home for fightin' cause of them."
"Who doesn't have that reputation?" Matt asked lightly, grabbing a door to a cafe and heading inside, cane now out and held vertically near his body. He was clearly known there as they were immediately shown to a table with the hostess guiding Matt and handing him a braille menu. "But I probably shouldn't so long as I'm affiliated with Xavier's. I'll see what Foggy and Marci can come up with. They're not."
“Thanks.” Sam said. “So uh…. What would you recommend? I’ve never been here before.”
The place was a lot nicer than anywhere he’d have picked for himself, but he didn’t dislike it. “So. Tell me more about you, I feel like the focus has been mostly on me and it shouldn’t be.”
"I usually get the burger for lunch," he replied fingers brushing over the options in case something else sounded appealing. "They do good sandwiches too."
Matt shrugged, "I'm not that interesting. I'm a lawyer, I work at Xavier's. I'm on Excalibur. Clint's my brother," that was a gross oversimplification and he knew it.
“Dunno,” Sam said, perusing the sandwich options. “I feel like you’re holdin’ out on me. I obviously don’t know ya well but- nothin? You can’t think of anythin’?”
"I'm currently in a poly with several others?" Matt offered. There was queer and then there was no labels poly queer. "I'm Catholic, which I recognize doesn't work well given my lifestyle and I just... ignore that mostly. Clint isn't, in case you were wondering. And I've been involved in boxing, martial arts and gymnastics in various ways for most of my life."
“I will keep my Mamaw’s opinions on your church to myself.” Sam said with a soft laugh. “I don’t care, I just don’t know nothin’ ‘bout your church. Weren’t a Catholic church for at least thirty miles back home…..the martial arts thing is cool though. In the biggest reach possible my family’s about the same with bluegrass music.”
I'll just point out that you wouldn't have your church without the protestant reformation, which needed an institution to break apart from," Matt paused, ordering when the waitress came by, then continued once she left, "Yeah, I was an angry, blind foster kid with emerging powers that needed an outlet. And a focus. Martial arts will take blind kids, most sports won't. Worked out pretty well."
“I’m agnostic.” Sam said with a small laugh. “Trust me, ain’t no love lost twixt me an’ the church I grew up in. Daddy wanted me to actually learn to play banjo somethin’ awful but I just play on instinct and ain’t that good. I loved baseball though and he an’ Mama finally caved and let me play when I started middle school….I at least got a few years to play before I started in at the mine.”
Organized religion wasn't great for a lot of people, mostly because it seemed they were far more interested in judging and shunning, not accepting and loving. And he included his own in that, absolutely. "Maybe a little personal, but did you get a GED? If not, we can help you with that. Or any other education you're interested in."
“Oh, I graduated early.” Sam said. “My teachers were real understandin’ about Daddy’s situation and helped me work out an independent study option that let me graduate at 16 so’s I could do full-time work sooner since Daddy was deterioratin’. Asthma n’ black lung are a bad combination. It was real nice o’ them to help and make sure I still got my diploma.”
"Good for you. And them, helping you out, though I'm sorry about your father," his own had been a high school drop out working construction and trying to become a boxer. It was a story that didn't have a happy ending for Jack Murdock either. "It's never easy losing a parent."
“We knew it was comin years afore it did.” Sam said softly. “Gives ya time to prepare some…..I prepared more than others. Knew what was comin’ I suppose.”
"Does it?" Matt cocked his head to one side, their food arriving hot and fresh, "I think that's harder. Watching someone decline. Knowing it'll happen, but never the exact moment. My dad was murdered. Certainly not better, but... it was quick. Probably painless. Your life still changes in an instant either way."
“That’s the thing about having eight younger siblings and bein’ poor as dirt.” Sam said quietly. “You start co-parenting with your folks before either of ‘em’s gone. Daddy tried to hold it off as long as he could but….someone had to work when he couldn’t no more, and someone had to play with the kids and go to practices and parent-teacher conferences when he was too tired and….It was gradual. I had time to get used to it before it was just me. ‘S a sight better than when I left…poor Jay didn’t…no way of knowin’ it was comin.”
Sam paused for a moment and then shook his head. "That's enough talk o' death for a nice lunch out. We should find ourselves a new topic."
"Hey, Sam, you okay to drive?" Matt asked, meeting him at the front door, "If not, we can take my bike." They were headed into Salem Center for lunch. Sort of a "meet my brother's boyfriend" kind of thing, because while they'd met before, it was very short and in a different context.
"I don't own a car." Sam said, as evenly as possible, trying not to stare at Matt's glasses. "But maybe we could walk? Lil' exercise never killed nobody."
To say he was nervous was an understatement. He took a steadying breath and spared a hopeful thought that he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth at any point during lunch. He knew he would, but it was always nice to look on the bright side of things.
"You want to date my brother and you're scared of my driving?" Matt shook his head, clearly amused as he led Sam towards the garage and indicated the Peg board of keys, "If there's keys, you can borrow it. Just sign it out in the log thing," he never borrowed cars, though his bike was in the corner, along with helmets.
Sam grabbed some keys and signed them out. “Ain’t afraid for me.” He said. “I’m nigh invulnerable when I need to be- but the likelihood of some sorta crash ain’t sittin’ too good with the idea of lunch.”
"There are several in the mansion car pool," Matt informed him, "But I've also got a motorcycle," not legally, but no one would grant a license to him for good reason. "It's too far to walk."
“Well then if you’re willing to show me where the mansion car pool is, I’m happy to drive.” Sam said. “Or I could fly us. Happy to do either.”
Sam clicked the unlock button and looked for the car that lit up. As he got the seat and mirrors adjusted he laughed absently. “Don’t think I’ve ever driven a car this small- we got one o’ those fifteen passenger vans and a terrible ol’ truck back home."
"I drove my roommates car years ago in college, it was an empty parking lot and I don't think I went above 15 miles an hour," Matt laughed, "But I joined a biker gang for... reasons. And had to learn to ride a motorcycle for it, and discovered I liked it. So now I have a bike," under his brother's name and with no license or insurance, but whatever. "I use public transit mostly, but it's fun around Salem sometimes." He turned on his phone GPS and shut off his airpods so Sam would have directions.
“Thanks.” Sam said. “So….. I ain’t done the whole meet the family thing…..you supposed to give me a shovel talk?”
He’d given plenty of shovel talks trying to keep his classmates away from Paige after she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested. And notably once to an awful boy in Mel’s Sunday school class who just wouldn’t take no for an answer. But he’d never been brought to meet family. He wondered if Matt offering to drive had been the intro to the shovel talk.
Turning to Sam, Matt raised an eyebrow over his sunglasses, "Do I need to?" he asked, voice dropping. "My brother is an adult and not without resources. If you hurt him, he'll mop the floor with you. And if, for whatever reason, he chooses not to, I'm not without my own talents. It's shovel math. I'm just interested in getting to know you better."
"You do not." Sam said. "But I am the oldest of nine with mostly sisters of datin' age so.... I've got one prepared. I'm interested in gettin to know you better too, beyond just what Clint says."
Chuckling, Matt added, "My brother is far, far from a teenager and never had any virtue to maintain. Unlike sisters, so I'm told. Our dads only adopted the two of us. I was a surprise actually, they'd intended to stop with Clint," and he was grateful they didn't.
"I was a surprise my folks discovered their senior year of highschool." Sam said. "And they probably wouldn't'a stopped if Daddy's black lung hadn't gotten so bad on account of his asthma..." Sam shuddered a bit as he drove. "I don't even wanna think about there bein' more than nine of us. 'M exhausted enough as it is."
Matt chuckled, "My dad, Andre, was the oldest of 13. And my birth dad was his much younger brother. After he passed, I was in foster care until they could locate family to take me," that it took two years said a lot, too. Andre never said anything, but Matt was pretty sure they'd reached out to other Murdock's before Andre. "Both were the black sheep of the family, I think. For different reasons. I can't imagine having that much family, especially not siblings. Sounds crazy."
“I pert near raised most of ‘em.” Sam said. “Most of the time I feel closer to Clint’s age than my own……kids."
Pert. Well. Clearly Sam wasn't from New York. That was known and obvious, but it was interesting how he spoke sometimes, his word choices. Matt had almost double minored in linguistics and this sort of thing was interesting. "Which is part of why I tease him about the age difference, but he acts 20 half the time. Our dad's have a large age gap than you do anyways."
“Yeah?” Sam said. “He really does though! If he and my sister Mel get in kahoots I’m a goner….. not that I don’t want ‘im to meet my kin but…. I got enough younger siblings stirrin’ up trouble without him joinin’ them and I don’t have the kind of influence anymore to get ‘em outta jail. Blowing up a mine shaft really ruins your reputation apparently.”
"I'm going to point out that I'm a lawyer," Matt replied, indicating that they needed to turn, "I'm not licensed in Kentucky, but I can make inquiries. I might have some other options, depending on need. Additionally, one of my boyfriend's and two of my girlfriend's are also lawyers, so we've got a wide reach."
Sam blinked rapidly and swallowed the urge to say 'that's the kind of relationship that gets you written into a Reba song.' Instead he tried his best to hide the surprise in his voice. "Wow- that's uh- a lot a' book readin' between ya. My little sister's first one in the whole damn family to go to to college. She's doin somethin' with brains, I can't keep it straight but she's brilliant so she's liable to get a Nobel prize or somethin'."
Sam then shrugged as he realized why Matt brought up that he was a lawyer. "I appreciate it but the Cabots bought their way into the courthouse and I ain't gettin' no favors there on account of them wantin' me dead n'all....Thanks. If you uh... ever have need for it I know US labor law upside down and backwards. But you're a lawyer so you probably don't need me for that."
It was a relationship that was likely in a Reba song. It worked well for him though. "Congrats to her. If you're interested in college, or a tech school, whatever, there are options, as well. Xavier's opens up a lot of opportunity for people. It's one of the things I appreciate about it, coming from the background I do," he paused as they parked, then continued once they were out, "I don't like bullies. And I don't like people that buy their way into power. Now I want to take the Kentucky bar."
"I've thought about it. Maybe social work. But I'm happy where I am for now." Sam followed Matt down the sidewalk and stuck his hands in his pockets as they walked. "If you wanna take on the Cabot family more power to ya. I got a reputation back home for fightin' cause of them."
"Who doesn't have that reputation?" Matt asked lightly, grabbing a door to a cafe and heading inside, cane now out and held vertically near his body. He was clearly known there as they were immediately shown to a table with the hostess guiding Matt and handing him a braille menu. "But I probably shouldn't so long as I'm affiliated with Xavier's. I'll see what Foggy and Marci can come up with. They're not."
“Thanks.” Sam said. “So uh…. What would you recommend? I’ve never been here before.”
The place was a lot nicer than anywhere he’d have picked for himself, but he didn’t dislike it. “So. Tell me more about you, I feel like the focus has been mostly on me and it shouldn’t be.”
"I usually get the burger for lunch," he replied fingers brushing over the options in case something else sounded appealing. "They do good sandwiches too."
Matt shrugged, "I'm not that interesting. I'm a lawyer, I work at Xavier's. I'm on Excalibur. Clint's my brother," that was a gross oversimplification and he knew it.
“Dunno,” Sam said, perusing the sandwich options. “I feel like you’re holdin’ out on me. I obviously don’t know ya well but- nothin? You can’t think of anythin’?”
"I'm currently in a poly with several others?" Matt offered. There was queer and then there was no labels poly queer. "I'm Catholic, which I recognize doesn't work well given my lifestyle and I just... ignore that mostly. Clint isn't, in case you were wondering. And I've been involved in boxing, martial arts and gymnastics in various ways for most of my life."
“I will keep my Mamaw’s opinions on your church to myself.” Sam said with a soft laugh. “I don’t care, I just don’t know nothin’ ‘bout your church. Weren’t a Catholic church for at least thirty miles back home…..the martial arts thing is cool though. In the biggest reach possible my family’s about the same with bluegrass music.”
I'll just point out that you wouldn't have your church without the protestant reformation, which needed an institution to break apart from," Matt paused, ordering when the waitress came by, then continued once she left, "Yeah, I was an angry, blind foster kid with emerging powers that needed an outlet. And a focus. Martial arts will take blind kids, most sports won't. Worked out pretty well."
“I’m agnostic.” Sam said with a small laugh. “Trust me, ain’t no love lost twixt me an’ the church I grew up in. Daddy wanted me to actually learn to play banjo somethin’ awful but I just play on instinct and ain’t that good. I loved baseball though and he an’ Mama finally caved and let me play when I started middle school….I at least got a few years to play before I started in at the mine.”
Organized religion wasn't great for a lot of people, mostly because it seemed they were far more interested in judging and shunning, not accepting and loving. And he included his own in that, absolutely. "Maybe a little personal, but did you get a GED? If not, we can help you with that. Or any other education you're interested in."
“Oh, I graduated early.” Sam said. “My teachers were real understandin’ about Daddy’s situation and helped me work out an independent study option that let me graduate at 16 so’s I could do full-time work sooner since Daddy was deterioratin’. Asthma n’ black lung are a bad combination. It was real nice o’ them to help and make sure I still got my diploma.”
"Good for you. And them, helping you out, though I'm sorry about your father," his own had been a high school drop out working construction and trying to become a boxer. It was a story that didn't have a happy ending for Jack Murdock either. "It's never easy losing a parent."
“We knew it was comin years afore it did.” Sam said softly. “Gives ya time to prepare some…..I prepared more than others. Knew what was comin’ I suppose.”
"Does it?" Matt cocked his head to one side, their food arriving hot and fresh, "I think that's harder. Watching someone decline. Knowing it'll happen, but never the exact moment. My dad was murdered. Certainly not better, but... it was quick. Probably painless. Your life still changes in an instant either way."
“That’s the thing about having eight younger siblings and bein’ poor as dirt.” Sam said quietly. “You start co-parenting with your folks before either of ‘em’s gone. Daddy tried to hold it off as long as he could but….someone had to work when he couldn’t no more, and someone had to play with the kids and go to practices and parent-teacher conferences when he was too tired and….It was gradual. I had time to get used to it before it was just me. ‘S a sight better than when I left…poor Jay didn’t…no way of knowin’ it was comin.”
Sam paused for a moment and then shook his head. "That's enough talk o' death for a nice lunch out. We should find ourselves a new topic."
