When John comes home and says he's going to Russia on a so-called vacation because Jack's landed himself in some deep Russian shit, Matt puts his foot down because hell if he's going to let that fly.
"It's my kid!" John exclaims and Matt winces.
"Please don't call him that", he says. "And I know. Alright. I get it. I know there's no way in hell that I'm going to talk you out of going, but what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't at least try?"
John smirks gratefully, "Yeah…" he says and plants one of his big paws on Matt's shoulder. A sure sign that he's about to rope him in and kiss him.
"And obviously", Matt continues before he has a chance. "I'm coming with you."
John's face falls.
"What? No!"
"I am."
"Like hell you are-!"
"John. I'm coming with you-"
"Matthew!"
"-We're not discussing this, I'm coming with you and that's final."
"Goddammit Matt!" John yells, but it's obvious that he's already realised defeat.
"Yeah", Matt says.
Being stuck in a Russian cab stuck in traffic is not the most ideal way to celebrate a romantic weekend with your boyfriend, but what better way to be entertained than to listen to said boyfriend try and speak Russian. The cab driver tells John that he basically asked for a hairy box. Matt snickers into his hand.
Although he sobers up as John and the cab driver continue talking. By the time the cabbie starts to sing, Matt is contemplating getting out of the car and walk to wherever it is they're meant to be going, never mind that he doesn't know where that is or how far it is.
In the end, he stays in the car until John gets out and then stays close to him, unsurprisingly going wherever he goes. Story of his life, that. Well, his life in the past few years anyway.
Then there are explosions and screams and before he's even had time to blink, John has spotted Jack and is taking off. Happy Valentine's to me, Matt thinks bitterly and jogs after him.
Unbelievable. Matt stays back and watches in amazement as John is actually scolding his grown-up son as if he wasn't sitting behind the wheel of a truck harbouring a Russian fugitive and there weren't trigger-happy people with automatic weapons milling about the place looking for them.
When Jack pulls a gun on John, Matt's heart lodges itself in his throat. Not that he actually believes that Jack would ever pull the trigger, but there's something about seeing a gun pointed at your lover's face that has that effect on you.
He quickly snaps out of it though and the second Jack jumps back into the truck he scans his surroundings quickly until,that one, he spots another truck and jogs over to it. By the time John climbs in he's already sitting in the passenger seat waiting for him.
"Fuck!" John startles. "Matt! You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing!"
"You might want to step on it, or you'll lose them…"
"Shit!"
That seems to sufficiently distract him. With screeching tires they pull out onto the main road, in pursuit.
"Seat belt", Matt says.
"Who the fuck is this guy?" Jack bellows.
John huffs, but looks down at the floor. Annoyed and nervous. Matt frowns. Great, he thinks. Just how I imagined meeting the in-laws.
Actually, now that he thinks about it, he can't really picture any other way to meet John's family.
"Matt", he offers.
"John!" Jack yells, completely ignoring him.
"He's with me!" John yells back. "Alright? Now do you mind telling me what the fuck is going on? What have you got yourself into?"
Then suddenly, always suddenly, there are gun shots again. The suit falls to the ground dead, bullet hole between the eyes.
"Shit!" Matt yelps, because you never get used to it, well John McClane has got used to it, but Matt doubt that he ever will.
Then there's yelling and more gun shots and John gets his hands on an actual machine gun that he starts firing at random, like he's Rambo, just as soon as he's shoved Matt to the floor. Matt curls up in a ball and presses his hands against his ear and doesn't move until John's grabbing at him, pulling him to his feet and shoving him around.
"Okay, let's go!" Jack is shouting from somewhere.
"Come on, Matt", John is saying and even as he's pulling and pushing and there's mayhem all around them, he manages to sound soothing.
He curls his hand around Matt's neck and steers him in the right direction.
"Yeah", Matt breathes and lets himself be steered.
He catches the way Jack is watching them and can see the cog wheels in his head working away as he puts two and two together, but then shoves the four aside, because that is just absurd. Matt has to tamp down an impulse to twirl around and kiss John like his life depended on it, but this is neither the time or the place.
"Need a hug?" John deadpans.
"Jesus…" Matt mutters.
Jack slowly turns his head and looks at John for the longest moment. Matt gets it. John can be a real dick at times and he fucking love him and everything but that was definitely a dick move. He actually feels bad for the kid.
Oh God, don't you start, he scolds himself. Thatkidis a year older than you!
Then Jack deadpans right back, "We're not really a hugging family" and smirks at John, but there's really no amount of taunt or cheek that can alter the truth of the words themselves and Matt feels grateful, not for the first time, that John is his lover and not his father. Because his lover John is, in his own ways, loving and considerate, and he's come quite a long way when it comes to opening up and sharing with Matt. But John McClane the cop and, apparently, the dad seems to still be the emotional clam Matt met years ago, finding it easier to either taunt or yell than to say or even show how he really feels.
"That's right", John says and turns back to the father-daughter display in front of them.
"I'll take one", Matt pipes up.
John and Jack both turn their heads slowly towards him and wow, like father like son, they both favour him with a weird but gruff look that saysWhat the fuck?
The only difference is that Jack's WTF is predominately made up of genuine confusion, whereas John has got that possibly-too-familiar gleam of exasperation in his eyes that always makes Matt feel like the kid that John still stubbornly refers to him as.
"Never mind!" he says. "Not the time, got it, just… forget I said anything!"
As soon as Jack mentions Chernobyl, Matt exclaims "I knew it!" startling both him and John. "I fucking knew it, John!"
"Geez Matt", John says. "What have I told you about keeping your voice down-?"
Ignoring him Matt continues telling them all about the information that he's got filed about the various elements to the Chernobyl incident that would suggest foul play, "I'm telling you, I've got tons of data on this, John-!"
"Matt, Matt, slow down, please! Not now…"
"But John-!"
"Not. Now."
"Oh fine!" Matt huffs, but keeps muttering about slow and stupid cops and the corrupted clown factory that is the CIA ("Really John, is this guy for real?") and how things would get resolved a lot sooner (John sighs) if at all, if any of them would actually deign to listen to people like him who used their brains rather than theirs brawn ("This is a joke right?") once in a while.
"Alright, enough already Matt", John exclaims, then lowers his voice and points a finger at Jack, adding, "And you-"
"But you don't, do you!" Matt continues a little louder.
"-shut up…"
"What, why, what did I say?" Jack splutters, but there's a smirk lurking at the corner of his mouth.
"You never listen", Matt insists. "Because you're just too stubborn-!"
"When the fuck haven't I listened to you, Matt?" John speaks up again.
"Forget it."
"No, go on, what haven't I been listening to? What am I meant to have heard that I've missed because I weren't listening?"
"I said forget it!"
"Oh fuck…" Jack says.
Matt glances at his face in the rear-view mirror. Guess he decided to accept that two and two makes four.
"Yeah", he mutters. "Happy Valentine's by the way…"
"Ah shit…" John mutters.
The regret is audible in his voice. Matt doesn't need to see his face to know that he feels bad.
"This is just too much to deal with right now", Jack says.
"No-one's asking you to deal with anything!" John shoots back, then adjusts the rear-view so that he can see Matt in the backseat. Their eyes lock, and Matt rolls his. He waves John's concern away.
"Add it to the list?" John says.
"Whatever", Matt mutters.
"You knew this wasn't really going to be a vacation."
"Yeah, I know!" Matt huffs.
"I'll make it up to you…"
"Gah, I did not need to hear that!" Jack complains.
"Well, unless you plan to disappear for another four years, you better get fucking used to it!" John snaps. "Matt is part of my life now."
"Fucking hell", Jack mutters, but there's no real heat behind it.
Matt smiles a little to himself. He probably won't add this to the list after all. That was a pretty damn good Valentine, right there.
The end.