[ADAM TYRONE OLIVER]

ASH TYLER COLLINS

adam was having serious withdrawals from being out on the water. his boat had been sitting in the harbour since he'd fallen and he couldn't remember the last time he'd spent this long on land without setting foot on a boat or into the water in between. he knew it was his own fault but that didn't stop him from lamenting. once he was out of of the contraption he had on his leg he'd be back out on the water, he didn't care what anyone said. even if all he took out was the tender at the back of his boat, he didn't need his legs to row, just his arms and they were fine. the only thing keeping him on land was his stupid leg. he could walk, just about, although he was supposed to be using crutches although he'd thrown them into the bottom cupboard the second he'd come home with them. if he was careful he didn't need them.

he knew his family were keeping an eye on him, even the ones that didn't live with him at the moment. be it text, calls or random visits to stop by they seemed to have an eye on him at all times. as the eldest, that was his job. his younger sister was even meddling by sending her fiancé over. now he liked ash, had done since the moment he'd met him but the timing was a coincidence. he usually took his nephews out on the water the weekends he had his kids and half the time poor ash was stuck coming out on the boat with them but it wasn't like they hung out every chance they got. until this morning when skye had dropped in to say that ash wanted to come over and watch the game with him later that night. that had sent alarm bells through his head and as much as he'd tried to tell her he had plans, she'd seen through him and told him to expect ash this evening.

so he was waiting for his almost brother in law to turn up on his doorstep so they could watch the game. what game they were watching he wasn't sure. skye hadn't been forthcoming with the information, she'd just kept saying the game and playing dumb by waving her hand and informing him it 'was the one with the ball'. if she'd wanted him to believe she was clueless about sports she'd have needed to try harder. but none the less he'd watch a game with ash because he did like the guy and they could come up with some sort of revenge plan on his sister. he'd set some beers out on the table in the living room, stocked more into the fridge and the temptation to just order in pizza to eat was growing by the second.

[ASH TYLER COLLINS]

It wasn't that Ash didn't like fishing, it just wasn't really his kind of thing. He didn't really have sea legs - he had discovered this quite early on during the trips with the kids that heavy waves on the water and the rocking of the boat made him feel a little queasy. Not to the point of motion sickness but it was not his preferred way to travel. Whilst he loved the idea of being James Bond flying about in a speedboat with his woman in a bikini at his side, he didn't know if the reality would be that great now that he knew what it was like to bob about on a boat. Maybe a speedboat would be different or more smooth, but the fishing boat idea for him was not the glamorous life they made it out to be in the movies. Plus, unless the fish were in the biting mood the time didn't half tend to draaaaag.

At least he liked his future brother-in-law. He was alright as far as guys went, and they had gotten along well right from the off, even if Ash had been somewhat reserved to begin with. He liked him enough that when his fiance had asked him to play nice and that Adam wanted him to come watch the game with him, he hadn't questioned it too hard. It had seemed a little bit coincidental, a little bit suspicious, but Ash had decided to ignore the red flags and take her at face value. He didn't even really watch football so he'd grabbed a six pack of beer to get him through the show. He shot off a quick text to Skye to let her know he hadn't been murdered on his short way over and knocked on the door, then opened the door anyway to poke his head in - considering Adam knew he was coming he saw no harm in it. "Hello? I come with alcohol!" He called out as a peace offering.

[ADAM TYRONE OLIVER]

ASH TYLER COLLINS

he was sat on the couch by the time ash poked his head into his front hallway. he'd been expecting him so the door had been left unlocked, though it he was being honest he left it unlocked more often than not these days, at least during the day. it made it easier with the kids going in and out all day long, plus it was easier to let the dog in and out if he didn't have to unlock it every time. he wasn't really worried about anyone coming into the house. they'd have to get through him and his dogs, although not trained to attack, he did a great job at barking at people who came into the house. and as if on cue, skip leapt out of his bed at lightning speed and stood next to adam barking in the direction of the front door. "hey whoa, chill." adam said as he reached to thump the dogs side affectionately. "don't eat him, he has beer."

he laughed a little as skip settled down at his feet and he glanced back behind him to the direction of the door and he leaned his arm over the back of his couch so he could twist to see ash better. "if you have beer, come in!" it would go great with the pizza that he had decided to order. what harm would it do, he needed food, ash needed to eat too and he'd have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. that in itself was enough justification beyond the fact that it was delicious and sometimes good for you, when made right. the stuff he'd ordered wasn't, but that was besides the point. the point was it could be. he reached his hand down again to pat skips head, not because he was worried about what the dog would do but because the dumb dog was liable to leap all over ash the second he walked into the room and that was a risk to the precious cargo his brother in law carried with him.

[ASH TYLER COLLINS]

He heard the bark of a dog as he shut the door behind him, toeing off his shoes and leaving them haphazardly by the door - he had been born in a barn after all, but he had the presence of mind to at least take his shoes off. He wasn't completely clueless about etiquette - mostly because Skye yelled at him for stuff and it stuck in his head eventually. "hey whoa, chill." He raised a brow as he appeared in the doorway, one hand held up in surrender, the other hanging onto his beer. "I'm chill." He joked, glancing at the dog. "don't eat him, he has beer." He half grinned, "Maybe I should hold onto it as a safety net? He can't hurt me so long as I hold the beer?" He suggested. He wasn't actually all that good with dogs - they were fine and all, so long as they weren't all over him. As a teenager fighting for scraps on the street, he'd had too many issues with dogs - chasing him out of yards and going after him in back alleys.

He headed further into the room as the dog settled. "if you have beer, come in!" Ash chuckled, "already in." He admitted with a shrug. He was very good at letting himself into places. But at least now he'd been invited. Ash put the beers on the table, and then broke the seal in order to grab one. Might as well dive right in and all that. He then went to take a seat on the sofa, popping the top and taking a sip. "Oh that's good stuff," He grinned, glancing at Adam. "So, we're watching a game? Is it a big one or something?"

[ADAM TYRONE OLIVER]

ASH TYLER COLLINS

he chuckled a little as skip stopped barking and sat back down on the bed, staring at the door to the lounge with such a dopey look on his face that adam couldn't help but be amused. the dog knew ash, he'd known him the whole time he'd been alive so the fact that he was still barking at him was funny. although, it did mean he was at least something of a good guard dog. there were days when he thought that skip would just roll over and show his stomach to any old intruder and let them have their way with the house in return for a scratch and some snacks. but at least he barked, that was enough. adam reached to ruffle the dogs ears lightly and he leaned back in the chair as the dog laid back down on the bed. "i don't think he'd know how to hurt you if he wanted to." adam said with a grin as he watched his brother in law come into the room. he knew that ash wasn't a fan of dogs, it wasn't something adam understood but to each their own, he was going to at least try and convince ash to let his boys get a puppy someday, because they did so love skip.

he leaned forward to grab one of the beers that had been placed down on the table and he was glad to find they were still cold. "beautiful." he mumbled to himself as he cracked the top and took in a long draw of the cold drink. was he supposed to drink with the pills he was on? probably not. in that moment he didn't care. he'd been copped up in the house far too long to give a shit about what he was or wasn't supposed to be doing when it came to alcohol. "i got told that was the plan." he said as he reached to pick the remote up. "i have no idea, skye said it was a game you really wanted to watch?" he said, starting to know for sure that he'd been played by someone he really should have been able to get the upper hand on, considering he was the older sibling.

[ASH TYLER COLLINS]

He raised a brow at the dog when he stopped barking and sat back down. "You remember me now, fella?" He joked with a slight shake of his head. He liked dogs but he was always wary of them, having been chased by plenty of them growing up and jumping through back yards or front yards or stealing their dinners from the bins in his bad days. "i don't think he'd know how to hurt you if he wanted to." Ash chuckle and shook his head as he took his seat and opened his beer. "And yet you encourage him for barking." nodding his head at the way Adam ruffled the dogs ears, but his smile showed he was joking as he settled into the seat and took a swig from his beer. "beautiful." He heard Adam mutter and he gave a half smile, taking another swig of beer. There was nothing better some days than relaxing in a comfy chair and cracking a cold one. A friend or family member helped too but it was something Ash was able to enjoy on his own too easily enough as he wound down.

"i got told that was the plan. i have no idea, skye said it was a game you really wanted to watch?" Ash frowned and tilted his head slightly as he considered the words. Well that didn't make sense. Adam didn't seem the type to lie about something so simple so why would Skye tell him to come over so badly. It twigged after a moment, the cogs turning and be have a chuckle. "Something tells me we got played, mate." He chuckled again and rested the cold beer bottle on his knee as he glanced to Adam. "You'd think I've had cottoned on to the signs by now when my future wife is manipulating me. You definitely have no excuse, you've known her a fair bit longer." He snorted at that. Considering the kind of world he'd grown up in you would have thought Ash was sharper than that but though he was well aware of how sharp Skye was she still caught him off guard plenty of times. He raised a brow at Adam. "So the question is, who was she doing this for? Which of is did she take pity on to come up with this plan?" as if one of them must have come across lonely or something.