Manhattan Portalocity Station and Beyond, Wednesday Afternoon

[suitably_heroic]

Coming here always made Jack restless - maybe because half the time, he was picking someone up from a different place and a different life, and as much as he was trying to do the healthy thing and not let the whole two-worlds-two-lives thing mess with his head, it still made him jittery.

Anyway.

It was just Cade. What was the worst that could happen?

(Probably a lot.)

He waited outside the station, wearing a jacket and hoodie and jeans and, probably, looking more genuinely relaxed than Cade had ever seen him. Even with the jitters. Even with the way his foot kept jumping.

Space. This was probably a bad idea...

[[ for that guy ]]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"We'll go do karaoke sometime, then I'll join you on the booze," Atton said wryly.

And lo, the booze was set down at their table.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I am amazing at karaoke," Cade said. It helped that he was born with a capacity to feel shame.

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm a professional musician," Atton countered, sipping his soda.

It had to be said copious amounts of alcohol were a great leveller.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I'm not throwing my underwear at you," Cade told him.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton pulled a face. "You better not. It's probably radioactive and psychotropic."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I do not know what that second word means," Cade said airily.

[suitably_heroic]

"Drugs," Atton said. "I'm saying your underwear is probably full of drugs."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Well, where else would you keep drugs?" Cade asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm not even going to answer that because just thinking about it makes me want to throw myself into an incinerator," Atton said. "Drink your tequila, tacos are coming soon."

[shutupandkillsomething]

Cade grinned just long enough to make it deliberately weird, then nodded.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rolled his eyes. "Troll," he muttered.

But then there were tacos.

"This one's on me," he added. "Which I will regret."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"You always regret hanging out with me," Cade said, winking.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton snorted. "I can't argue with that," he said. "Tried to explain the camel thing to Dane the other day and I realized very quickly that all I had was 'well, it's Cade'."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"It made sense at the time!"

Not even then, no.

[suitably_heroic]

"Nah," Atton said. "I think you and Sparks did it because it didn't make any sense at all."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"That also sounds like us," Cade admitted.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton made an amused noise. "You two were definitely having the time of your lives back then," he said.

And him limping after them, pretending to be just the same.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"We were young and stupid," Cade said.

[suitably_heroic]

"Still kinda stupid now," Atton said, and took a sip of his soda.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I make up for it by being so good looking," Cade told him.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, no, you don't," Atton informed him. "I guess we can give you points for being too tough to kill?"

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I'll take that," Cade said, refilling his tequila.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton watched him with the tequila for a second. Then: "You think there's anything that could make you put down the whole flying around, causing trouble, running outta town with your pockets full of credits life?"

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Getting killed," Cade said. "It's not like I went to college. This is what I'm good at."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton shrugged.

"You've always seemed very clear on that," he said. "Maybe I was a little jealous of that, back in the day."