Seeing Red [Sam]

Sam had also had a long day, not as stressful or upsetting of one, but it had still been long and he was still tired, and it was frustrating to come home to find things like the trash hadn't been taken out and even though it was late afternoon the table was still full of breakfast dishes. Usually everyone pitched in, the chores got done, things didn't always run perfect but they went smoothly. But every once in a while it'd start to slip, Sam would have to remind himself he was living in a house full of literal teenagers, and he'd have to step up and be the authority figure and remind everyone he wasn't going to fucking keep this place running himself.

So here he was, after working outside since early that morning, cleaning up crusted over food and not feeling overly excited about it. He heard the door open and close, someone else was home.

"Hey." He called over his shoulder. "Hey you seem the first one home...do me a favor and if you see people before me...remind them to pick up their shit and not just leave it out for me to deal with?" He didn't say it accusingly or like he was blaming whoever had just come in, but the annoyance still managed to seep into his tone as he clanked another dish down in the sudsy wash water.

Harley had been half hoping that he could slip in without being noticed and go hide until this awful feeling passed, and he cringed visibly when Sam called to him, dragging his feet into the kitchen and fixing the man with a look that was more guarded and defensive than he probably meant for it to be, "what do you want?" He didn't quite mean for his reply to come out as a hot growl, but it still did, and he gripped the door frame tight, glaring at the man.

"Fuck off. I'm not dealing with other people's bullshit." He turned with an angry sound, "got enough bullshit to deal with on my own." It was clear by his stance and the set of his jaw that he was incredibly agitated and tense, and after a moment he turned to the man with a fire in his eyes, "and if you got a problem with then then...Then fucking FIGHT ME!" His last words came out as an aggressive shout as he felt that burn in his chest, his palms practically itching to deck someone as he bristled with unchecked anger.

Sam half turned to Harley, feeling a flair of his own temper until he saw how agitated the other man seemed to be. He knew that look. He knew that look all too well. He needed some time to cool off, anything said now would only escalate. There was part of him that absolutely wanted to snap something nasty back, but it wouldn't do any good. And Harley had always been a reasonable and for the most part pleasant guy to be around, Sam didn't feel a need to drive a wedge there if just some time to blow off steam would be enough.

"Not asking you to do nothin' right now. Not important at the moment." He was irritated, but keeping it under control. Damn, that guy he'd sat through counseling sessions with would be fucking proud of him right now.

Harley's demand to fight through brought him fully around, brushing soap off his arms. "What the fuck? I'm not gonna fucking fight you over doing the fucking dishes." Sam found himself snapping the words out. "Go outside. Take a walk, punch a fucking tree. Go calm down, you're acting like a damn crazy person right now."

Harley liked Sam, and the sane part of him would be kicking the shit out of what he was doing now as he advanced closer, glaring fire at the man with a snarl on his face, "I don't fucking care!" He was clenching and unclenching his fists now as he breathed a little faster, "I'm not doin' it now and I'm not fuckin' doin' it later!" He was getting closer to the man as he spoke, "today's be fucking SHIT and I'm not dealing with...Fucking...ANYTHING!" He was talking out of his head as he got close to Sam now, not even really caring if he made any sense.

He glared hard at him when he told him to go calm down, barking out a reply, "NO! Fucking FIGHT ME! I'll kick yer ass!" He hissed out another 'fuck you' as he reached to shove the man, his expression not entirely here as his hot temper got the better of him, "I'll fucking take you! Fuckin' c'mon!" He was ready to deck Sam right here and noq.

"Alright! Fuck, whatever! Do what you want!" Sam's own hot temper was starting to rise, despite knowing he shouldn't let this guy and whatever was bothering him get to him.

As Harley grew closer he drew himself up to his full height, he might not have been as tall, but he was more solidly built and still cut an impressive figure.

At the shove Sam didn't respond in words, but reached out with surprising speed and grabbed Harley by the forearm and in one painful motion twisted his arm backwards, which in turn spun Harley's full body around and over slightly. With a push, still gripping the other man's arm, Sam bent him over and slammed his face against the kitchen counter, holding him there by the painfully pinned arm behind his back.

"Still wanna fucking fight me?" He demanded in a low voice, bent over near Harley's ear. "Or you ready to fucking calm down?"

Harley hadn't been expecting to be grabbed by Sam when he shoved him, and he let out a surprised yelp at the painful twisting of his arm, his eyes going wide in shock, "Fuck!" He gasped when his face slammed against the counter, writhing uselessly in the man's strong grip until he went limp, breathing hard from the struggle and his anger that was half dying down now, "Ugh! Fine! I'm calm!" He hissed softly, letting out a pained noise, "Please lemme go! Yer gonna break my fucking arm, man!" His eyes filled with angry tears as he closed his eyes.

"It was just a shitty day!" He looked ahead with a look that was still angry, but at least down to earth again, "That's no excuse I know just...Everyone was fucking with Ian!" He clenched his fists tightly, growling softly, "I wanted to break their fucking necks! I wanted to fucking break their faces!" He glanced back at him, "but I didn't do a fucking thing, so I was pissed at myself too..." He sighed and let his face go limp against the counter top, "I'll fucking get them tomorrow. I'll fucking break every bone in their ugly fucking faces." After a moment he let out a soft breath, "I'm sorry I took it out on you though, man..."

"You wanted to fight." Sam continued near his ear. "This is sometimes the shit that happens when you fight." He held it for a few moments longer before finally releasing Harley and leaning back against the sink, arms folded over his chest.

He let Harley rant out what was bothering him, not answering at first. "Alright. So you go back tomorrow and do that. What good you gonna be to Ian after that, when they lock you the fuck up?" he asked, calm but blunt, letting that sink in for a moment.

He didn't talk about his own past much. Or at all, really. But he recognized the path Harley might well go down, and wanted him to be aware of just how easily he could completely destroy his life, with how angry he currently was.

Harley rubbed at his shoulder when Sam let him go, rolling the limb to work out the ache the position had caused. He deserved that, he knew he did, and he glanced over at Sam when he spoke, looking much more calm than he had, "I can't just let them say those things...I can't let them get away with that shit!" He huffed and leaned back against the counter, closing his eyes, "it's bullshit!" He glanced over at him with a frown, "I don't know how to...Just fucking chill out!" He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm just so fucking angry...And it feels like I've just been getting angrier!" He looked over at him, "you know what I mean?"

He'd never really asked Sam where he came from, but then he didn't prod at anyone, "I feel like you probably do..." He looked up at him, "so how do you deal with it? I've always fought people...Used to be in trouble all the time..." He ran a hand through his hair, "you seem to have it all together and I just...Don't fucking get it man..."

"Heh. You think I didn't used to be an angry shithead too?" Sam asked. "Turns out...couple years in lock up...if you're lucky you get some of your shit figured out so if you luck out you don't gotta go back." He knew how lucky he was not to have just been caught in that endless death spiral. He was lucky he had people on the outside who helped him. Not everyone got so lucky.

"Knowing the consequences. Living those fucking consequences. Puts shit in perspective."

He paused and took a breath, no point in beating around the bush or just hinting at it. "I was about your age. There was a guy fucking with my sister...pulling her down into some dark, fucked up shit. And her...she's...well...in a lotta ways she never really grew up past about ten. So I figure out this is going on...and I thought the exact same shit you're thinking. No one messes with my family, I'll break them all, they have it coming...you get it." He named them off like some kind of weird rote list.

"So I find this guy. And I...beat the ever loving shit out of him. As in he was in ICU for months and doesn't have most of his teeth anymore ever loving shit out of him." He looked away, looking ashamed of it all for a moment, before looking back to Harley. "He didn't fuck with my sister anymore. But that's a guy who'll never live a normal life again. And I got locked up for it." He looked at Harley for a long moment. "It's well and great to wanna take it out on the people making your guy's lives miserable right now...but think long and hard if that's shit you wanna live with for the rest of your life."

Harley looked up at Sam when he spoke, they'd always gotten along fairly well, the two men were fairly alike in their stubborn mouthiness. He frowned as he listened to his story, it was unsurprising in a way, Sam came off as a man who had lived through hell, seen shit that most people couldn't understand. He pulled a chair up as Sam spoke and took a seat, his eyes growing wider as he told his story, "Jesus..." He wasn't surprised by this, but it was still a bit harrowing to hear, Sam seemed like such a well put together young man, imagining him hurting someone like that, it was a scary thought.

After a moment of quiet he looked up at him, "god damn Sam...I'm sorry..." He looked back up at him, "how...How would you handle this now?" He looked up at him, "how would you have handled the situation as you are now?" He looked up at him with a frown, "I guess...I don't really want to hurt anyone...I just don't know what else to do..." He ran a hand through his hair, "how do I handle being angry like this?" He looked up at him with a questioning gaze.

After a moment he glanced up at him and chewed his lip, "do you think we could...I dunno...Take a walk?" He gestured at the dishes, "I'll help with these when we get back I just...Y'know..."

Sam didn't quite look back at Harley as he gave a half shrug. "Honestly? I dunno. If it was today...I dunno what I'd do." He admitted. "But thinking about...knowing the consequences. Guess that had something to do with it."

"Look. I get it. I fucking get it. I know what being that fucking pissed off angry is like. But...fuck. I'm not a shrink or anything, I don't have all the answers on how for you to not be angry or anything."

He looked a little surprised when Harley suggested they go for a walk, but then nodded. "Yeah, sure." They were on some land, and in a fairly rural area, lots of country roads to walk down and be outside and think things through. He knew, he'd done it plenty of times himself. "Eh yeah." he looked back to the dishes. "Yeah, I just got home and saw fucking shit left out everywhere, kinda pissed me off. But it's picked u easily enough." he wiped the last of the soap and water off his arms, before heading towards the front door.

He had to bite back an angry retort when the man responded, glancing over at him with a smirk instead, "geeze sorry for askin." He shrugged, "I just figured maybe you'd have some ideas." He chuckled softly and looked up at him, "thanks for telling me that...And for making me chill the fuck out..." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I'm still angry but..." He shook his head and looked up at him, "it doesn't matter...I guess I just need to learn to stuff that shit away." He shrugged it off, but looked relieved when Sam agreed to go for a walk with him.

"Thanks...I think some fresh air will be nice..." He followed him to the door as they talked, looking to the side, "sorry man, I'll try and remember to take care of my shit from now on." He knew he was guilty of running out before doing his part sometimes, though he'd been trying like hell to be a considerate housemate, "and if ya need me to put any'a them in a tight ass headlock!" He grinned at him, "I'd be happy to do that too!" Another cheeky grin as he hopped down the steps of the porch.

"Hey." Sam spread his hands, but looked dead serious for a moment. "It's not that simple. There's no guide-book or one size fits all. Hell, I can't even really tell you step by step how I got to where I am...it's...as fucking cliche as it sounds it's personal. I wish I could be more helpful." He looked almost apologetic. "You just...you gotta reach that point in you where you want to...if that makes sense."

"And hey, it happens. We all got our crazy lives, the bullshit in our own heads. Sometimes dishes and shit isn't that important." He shrugged as he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode easily down the road.