Super Bowl Buttonhole(closed)

If there was one thing Cobalt didn’t want to be, it was a hypocrite. He was fine with being petty, introverted, misanthropic, unpleasant, and all the other things people saw him as. Mostly because to one extent or another, they were absolutely true—he had definitely been all or some of these things at one point or another. But he’d always taken special care to avoid being a hypocrite. He had special distaste for hypocrisy.

So when Ben had suggested that they stage this damn thing for Josh and Sean at the New Year’s party, he’d initially said “absolutely not”. No matter what kind of behaviour Josh and Sean had shown at the party, Cobalt was well aware of his own failings in romance and things of that ilk, and he wasn’t really sure he would feel comfortable advising others about theirs. That, and Cobalt was pretty sure that if this went poorly, Josh would probably never speak to him again. He didn’t care much for that possibility; he really liked Josh.

But then there was the question of putting his own preferences and “I really don’t want to do that” over the happiness of his friend. Or so Ben had said. Interventions weren’t supposed to be pleasant for anyone involved, but there came a point that “I’m really not one to talk” became “but if we don’t, who will?” Eventually, you had to do what was best for your friend.

Goddammit, Ben had explained it like they were being good friends, but Cobalt sure as hell didn’t feel like one. Especially when Josh came through the door, all smiles and ready to have some fun with his friends. Oh yeah, if he were Josh, Cobalt would never speak to any of them ever again.

Sean, on the other hand, seemed to clue in to what was going on, and tried to usher Josh out of the door. Oh no. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do this.

Cobalt pushed himself off his uneasy perch on the edge of the couch and stood up, crossing his arms across his chest. “No, you should probably just sit down.” He glanced a little nervously at Ben and Riley, his shadows coiling around his shoulders restlessly, “This is kind of important.”

Josh ignored Cobalt's directive to sit, instead peering suspiciously between the other three men. There was a distinct lack of the enthusiasm he normally associated with the Super Bowl. Nor, for that matter, was there a television anywhere in sight. There was food, but that and the presence of his friends was the only sign that a party was even possible, let alone planned.

"I take it we aren't actually watching football, then. What happened?"

He resisted the urge to ask who had died; what if someone actually had? He wouldn't have been surprised, given the furrowed brows and vague, doomsday hints and the shadows hiding Cobalt. It didn't help that Sean's immediate reaction was to suggest they leave; in fact, the hand on his shoulder and the step back toward the door was downright ominous.

Before they could escape this....whatever this was, exactly...Ben had blocked off their only path to freedom. This left them with one of two options: stay and discover why everyone seemed so grim or fight with their friends for the right to leave. Josh didn't want to have a fight, and despite the wary look on Sean's face curiosity warred with dread.

Ben's suggestion only made the dread flare up stronger; nothing good could come out of gentle suggestions to make oneself comfortable, not when accompanied by faces full of seriousness and...pity? He couldn't quite place the look the other men were giving them, but whatever it was it certainly didn't inspire any confidence that the evening was going to be fun. He'd been looking forward to watching the Super Bowl for once rather than ignoring it like he usually did; to discover his night wasn't going to be as fun as he had hoped was disappointing. Of course, he was sure his friends had good reason for their aura of gravity: perhaps the women who had attacked him had struck again. After all, Sean had been sure that they would, eventually.

This was like trapping wild beasts or something, the way that Ben circled around to shut the door and stand between the two subjects and their potential exit. Josh was at a complete loss and Sean very clearly knew what was going on. And he wasn’t happy about it. And while Cobalt couldn’t very well blame the telepath for his annoyance (certainly, Cobalt would be feeling something very similar were it he in this position), there was a certain amount of “well, too bad” that he felt towards Sean’s very obvious irritation at all three of them. He had no doubt that if someone Sean cared about were in this situation, Sean would give his own brand of unsolicited advice.

So when Sean loomed over Ben and tried to move the younger man out of the way, Cobalt scowled slightly and walked over to stand next to the psychologist. He didn’t move to stand between Ben and Sean to break up the stern looks, mostly because there was very little room between them anyways. And…well, they were both considerably taller than him, and it would just look really silly. “Hey, c’mon.” He gave Sean a stern glare of his own, “Not that I wouldn’t be doing the same thing in your situation, but no running.” He nodded in the general direction of the living room, his stare still affixed to Sean, “Sit down. Your friends want to talk to you about some things. Besides,” Cobalt’s voice was cold, “You’re always so interested in other people’s problems, well…” He shrugged, “Consider this turnabout.” If nothing else, maybe this would teach the telepath to not be so bossy.

Reluctantly, Cobalt turned to look at Josh, who looked suspicious and confused. He gave his friend an apologetic look, “C’mon Josh, sit down. Please?”

With a safe distance away from his friends, Riley sort of rearranged the food he had brought that was arranged on the table. With the grim tone of the whole setup, no one had teased him about bringing the food despite it being under false pretense.

When Ben and Cobalt started to barricade the door, Riley was sure there would be some sort of physical altercation but for now, everyone seemed calm though their eyes spoke a very different story.

"We don't want anybody to get hurt," Riley piped up in a small voice. "You're both good friends of mine and I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of this." It was vague and could have been open to any sort of interpretation but the message was there.

Realization still hadn’t dawned completely on Josh, it appeared. The other man started strong, protesting an intervention and saving Sean from having to explain that to him. And then...he proclaimed that their drinking was under control.

Swing and a miss.

While Sean resented the fact that he was trapped in this room, that he was missing the Super Bowl, that these men were interfering in his life regarding a situation they didn’t understand, and that this was a waste of his weekend, all of those paled in comparison to the position in which they had placed him. That was the unforgivable transgression. And he refused to play the role they desired of him.

He would not be the one to explain this to Josh. If they were intent on meddling and humiliating the other man, then they would have to do it themselves. Finding Cobalt now standing beside Ben, and Riley on the sofa behind him, Sean briefly contemplated other exits. There was only the window, and the situation was not quite as dire as that; moreover, he had a slight aversion to windows due to recent events.

That left him with relatively few options. Cobalt’s animosity didn’t help matters; interventions weren’t supposed to involve any element of turnabout, although he supposed that meant that the lawyer had discovered the origin of his Christmas books.

Keeping his gaze firmly on Cobalt now, and craning his neck downward to accomplish that task, he spoke flatly, "I'm interested in solving problems that have resolutions.” He was not an unreasonable man, and he understood the value of problem solving. In nearly any other situation, he would agree that problem solving should play a role.

But this was unlike nearly any other situation which might occur in his personal life. First and foremost, the telepath was neither blind nor possessed of a mental deficiency; he was keenly aware of all of the underlying issues inherent in his relationship with Josh. However, their current situation was a balance they had struck decades ago which worked well for them, and that was what mattered. Aside from a few embarrassing incidents over the years, primarily the party at Cobalt’s house since the New Year’s party – although shocking to others – didn’t even rate on Sean’s list, they were without falter. Their friendship was rock solid, and what might erupt with a bit of alcohol was merely the last remnant of their sexual compatibility.

Explaining that to another psychologist who should know better, an attorney who didn’t like him, and Riley who – with a brief glance over his shoulder Sean decided – looked guilty as sin over being here was another matter entirely. At this point, he’d rather perform the Twelve Labours than put Josh through this humiliating experience in front of an audience. Making a last attempt at convincing them to let this go, without mentioning the so-called problem by name, he added, “this is under control, even if you can't see that from the outside."

When Josh started talking about his alcoholic tendencies, Ben was amused. Of all things to jump to the conclusion to, Josh had to go there? Despite the grim setting they were in, Ben had to take a moment to compose himself from his musings.

Sean's belligerence and insistence that they had it all under control upset Ben. There was no way the man was actually serious. Cobalt took the words Ben wanted to say right out of his mouth and Ben backed him up.

"Dude," his hand went up to his forehead, a show of mild exasperation at the senior psychiatrist. "If it were under control, what happened at the party - no, parties," he put a hard emphasis on the plural of the word for the older man to see. "Wouldn't have happened," Ben paused and looked at Sean. "And this," he gesticulated a circle without breaking eye contact with the other man. "This wouldn't have happened."

To some extent, Sean thinking Ben should know better was completely true. But like Sean, Ben liked to solve problems that have resolutions. This had a resolution, they were all practically like-minded individuals so they would be able to come up with a solution. It wasn't the likeliest of problem solving techniques but it was a start.