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

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I might mix it up and call him 'my guy' or 'hey you,'" Cade said, not bothering to deny the first part.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, you'll be fine. But you pull that any of my other friends and you're probably getting punched in the face," Atton added. "I know you're used to that."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"I am pretty good at ducking," Cade said.

[suitably_heroic]

"You might need it," Atton said cheerfully, waving over another server. "You want anything besides more tacos?"

[shutupandkillsomething]

"You're the expert here. What else is good?" Cade asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"Can't go wrong with quesadillas," Atton said merrily. "It's 'what if tacos, but we add enough cheese to clog up all of your arteries at once'."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Only old people worry about their arteries," Cade told him.

[suitably_heroic]

"You're getting up there too, you know," Atton informed him.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Not as fast as you are," Cade said. "I eat cheese without fear."

[suitably_heroic]

"We'll have four quesadillas," Atton told the server, sighing, before ordering a few more tacos. "Space. Forty is going to be a rude awakening for you."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"If I get there," Cade said airily. "Is Zane--" close, Cade, "--gonna complain about his arteries too?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Dane," Atton said idly, but he didn't sound all that worried about it. He reached for his soda. "Probably not. He likes jumping off of mountains with a board strapped to his feet, he has weird ideas about health."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Nah, he just sounds like an adrenaline junkie," Cade said. "Or a teenager. He's not a teenager, right?"

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rolled his eyes. "He's my age," he said. "Space."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Just trying to get a mental image," Cade said, refilling his tequila again to aid in more amazing questions.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton groaned, settling back.

Luckily for him, it wasn't long before the door to the restaurant opened again, revealing a Chinese-American man with messy hair pulled back into a way too long ponytail.

Atton leaned back and gave him a wave. "Over here!" he called, pulling the seat beside him back a few inches.

[shutupandkillsomething]

Cade arched up an eyebrow and watched New Guy approach.

[suitably_heroic]

New Guy's smile was definitely a little on the doofy side. "Hey," he said, as he reached the table, and stuck his hand out. "Cade, right?"

Atton had the face of a man waiting for a snarky comment that was, apparently, not appearing in this interaction so far. He reached for his soda.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"That's me," Cade said with an easy smile. "Hi."

[suitably_heroic]

"Welcome to New York," Dane said, glanced down at his hand, and said, "Right, handshakes not a space people thing."

Atton was not going to overreact and smack someone or run away or anything. Just. Crossing the streams. Weird. Weird.

[shutupandkillsomething]

"No, we prefer to bow and stare at each other until it gets strange," Cade said.

[suitably_heroic]

"I feel like that's way more civilized passive-aggression than playing the 'who has the better handshake' game," Dane mused, and sat down in his chair. "Just-- really making it eerie and uneasy."

Atton rolled his eyes. "I ordered you some Al pastor," he said.

"Thanks."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"Who's Al Pastor?" Cade asked.

In his defense, that was a pretty galaxy far, far away name.

[suitably_heroic]

"Pork marinated in chilies and pineapple," Dane said, grinning. "You can grab one of mine when they get here." He eyed Atton. "You didn't get him any?"

Atton shrugged. "He talks a big game about being a big space kid more important than this little mudball," he said. "If he doesn't know how to order the good tacos..."

[shutupandkillsomething]

"He's punishing me," Cade said, nodding. "It's why I never visit."