/happy halloween, dr blake fandom. (even tho we don't really celebrate it over here...)
If you told Matthew Lawson that his love life was going to be more confused in his fifties than in his thirties than he probably wouldn't have believed you. But the thing is: you would be right.
For starters, there's his kind of relationship with Alice Harvey. He might be in love with her, but she could also be a very good friend. Who he happened to invite over a lot. And sit next to. And think about.
Then there was his…Whatever it was going on with Charlie and his shit show of a love life. Pining about a girl who lived in another country, while attempting to date his niece. While simultaneously maintaining a secret relationship with his boss.
If you put all of that together in a mind map, Matthew doesn't mind saying that it would be a pretty terrible mind map, and probably made both him and Charlie look like terrible people. Which was, clearly, why he was here. Again. Half naked and kissing him. Charlie is soft and warm to the touch and his hands are cool on his chest.
Charlie pulled back, and Matthew is reminded that he is still very, very much dressed.
"Should I take it off?" Charlie asked, smiling a cheeky sort of smile that Matthew cannot recall ever seeing before.
"Yes." Matthew breathed, reaching out with one hand to start tugging the buttons on his shirt open, before deciding he'd had quite enough of this, and pulling the shirt open, sending a hail of buttons over the room. Matthew hesitated, and looked at Charlie, who looked back with those big, blue eyes.
"Sorry I-"
"Don't be sorry." Charlie said, leaning in to kiss him again, Matthew leant in to grab the zipper of Charlie's pants, but Charlie pushed him away, stepping back. Matthew presumed it was because he didn't want to ruin two articles of clothing. He'd have to buy him a new shirt. "Wait. I just need to take my outfit off."
"Your what?"
Charlie replied by digging his fingers deep into his sternum. Matthew could only watch, horrified, as the skin split under his fingertips, pushing deep into his chest. Past his ribcage, and deeper still. The split continued down Charlie's chest. Down his stomach, past the line of his trousers. He looked up just in time to watch Charlie slip his fingers into the middle of his face.
Matthew can't look away, he's horrified. He thinks he might throw up. He waits for a torrent of blood, but there is nothing. Charlie peels his face away, and drops the split outside of his skin to the floor. Out of the empty husk, emerged a massive, grey coloured monster.
Its mouth opened to reveal a gaping maw, as its tentacles unfolded and unfurled. Then it stopped moving. Matthew watched as the thing sat peacefully on the floor, amongst the empty shell of the man he'd just been about to get into bed with.
"Charlie?" It made a soft noise he can't identify, and slowly moved towards him, forming bipedal legs as it did. "Oh my God." Charlie (he supposed) stopped in front of him. Reaching out one hesitant hand, he touched one of the squishy looking places where Charlie's chest used to be. It felt like slimy suede.
A weird looking he supposed tounge extended from Charlie's new mouth and licked him on the cheek. Gross.
Just what his love life needed. More complications.