A Practice Space, Brooklyn, Saturday Noon
Aug. 9th, 2025 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suitably_heroicAnother day, another show, this time upstate. Dane and Trent had gone on ahead earlier that morning to get to their rental. But a bunch of Jill's gear was still locked up at practice, never mind some of Dane's amps, and so it fell to the drummer and the singer to roll all of their stuff out onto the street while they waited for their ride to show up.
"I swear if short range portals weren't so expensive, I would never drive anywhere again a day in my life," Jack groused, as he attempted to peer over the edge of the kick drum, just to make sure he wasn't about to bowl someone over.
"Oh please," Jill said, as hauled two of her toms over her shoulder. "You're too much of a control freak. You're going to grab the wheel in that car as soon as it gets here and we'll have to wrench it back out of your hands when we get there."
"I could give that up for short range portals." Jack squatted down to set the kick drum down by the side of the road. He stretched up, tilting his head sideways in a desperate attempt to dispell the crick in his neck. "Maybe with some kind of speeder that actually goes up the stairs, so we don't keep having to do this."
"And then we'll get a unicorn," Jill said blandly. "To ride all the way to the land of UBI and affordable health care."
Jack threw her an annoyed look. It was also a fond look. He contained multitudes. "Speaking of," he said, as he took in the amount of gear on the sidewalk - was that all of it? "Dane told me you okayed his plan to take a little more of the band checks so he can, you know. Downsize the shifts."
"I don't need the money," Jill said. She looked back at him, a wry little smile on her face. "And he's wanted to do this for so long. He does in-person work, I work remote with flexible hours, so... I don't know. It just makes sense."
"Well," Jack said. Awkwardly. "...Thanks."
Dane really had seemed lighter this week. Like a little more of the doom and gloom, buried pessimism had been burned out of him. It was nice to see, even if Jack's own not-so-buried pessimism had him worried it was going to come bite them in the ass.
"Besides, it means I can ask you guys to help me move again guilt-free," Jill said brightly. She patted her tom.
"You're moving?" That was news.
"Thinking about it," she said. "You know how much of a pain in the ass it is to get anywhere from fucking Bergen Beach? I know I was in my post-breakup misery phase, but what the hell was I thinking?"
"That it was affordable and available and very far from--?" Jack offered.
"... Yeah. But it was still stupid," she said. "Anyway, I'm thinking of moving a little closer to you guys. Inwood maybe. Or Washington Heights."
"I dunno, if you ask Dane, that's still practically on the other side of the planet," Jack offered.
"Dane thinks anywhere west of the Hudson, east of the East River, and north of 96th is the other side of the planet. Hell, I think he thinks there's a customs checkpoint at Cathedral Parkway," Jill replied. "I'll settle for anywhere I won't have to change trains twice to see you guys."
His instinct was to argue with her, just for arguing's sake. But he didn't want to - they'd missed having Jill nearby this past year. It'd be nice to have her. And that was a weird thing to think about. Finding it nice. To have someone else nearby. "I mean, yeah, he still hasn't forgiven his sister for moving to Queens," Jack said, watching traffic crawl on by.
Jill parked her hands on her hips. "How's he doing anyway?" she said. "He's been a little quiet with me. Trent too, but at least I can bully him into submission."
Jack took a deep breath. "Getting better?" he said. "His sister dragging up everything that happened with James a million years ago has not been great for his head, but I think he's starting to compensate. The gigs help. Of course now that that's settling a little he's moving on to stressing out about me being at Fandom half the week."
"I mean," Jill said, eyeing him. "You do have a track record."
"I do have a track record," Jack agreed, sighing. "But it's just a few more weeks. And I agreed to go to family dinner with his sister again to play buffer, so I'm doing all I can to win my points back." He glanced at her, realized she was still eyeing him, and added, "I'm really not going anywhere. I'm good here. It's home."
"Okay," Jill said.
"You don't have to give me the skeptic voice," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "I mean it. I'm good."
"I just said okay," she repeated.
"Sore spot," he said.
"I noticed."
Jack rubbed the back of his head and stuck his hand in his pocket, searching for his phone. Any messages about the ride yet? "So how big is this venue again?" He had not been the logistics guy on that one.
That deep sigh said he still wasn't off the hook, but he was being given some respite. "I think about seven hundred?"
It was only the Force that kept Jack's phone from shattering immediately upon impact with the curb.
Oh, space.
[[ nfb, nfi. ]]
"I swear if short range portals weren't so expensive, I would never drive anywhere again a day in my life," Jack groused, as he attempted to peer over the edge of the kick drum, just to make sure he wasn't about to bowl someone over.
"Oh please," Jill said, as hauled two of her toms over her shoulder. "You're too much of a control freak. You're going to grab the wheel in that car as soon as it gets here and we'll have to wrench it back out of your hands when we get there."
"I could give that up for short range portals." Jack squatted down to set the kick drum down by the side of the road. He stretched up, tilting his head sideways in a desperate attempt to dispell the crick in his neck. "Maybe with some kind of speeder that actually goes up the stairs, so we don't keep having to do this."
"And then we'll get a unicorn," Jill said blandly. "To ride all the way to the land of UBI and affordable health care."
Jack threw her an annoyed look. It was also a fond look. He contained multitudes. "Speaking of," he said, as he took in the amount of gear on the sidewalk - was that all of it? "Dane told me you okayed his plan to take a little more of the band checks so he can, you know. Downsize the shifts."
"I don't need the money," Jill said. She looked back at him, a wry little smile on her face. "And he's wanted to do this for so long. He does in-person work, I work remote with flexible hours, so... I don't know. It just makes sense."
"Well," Jack said. Awkwardly. "...Thanks."
Dane really had seemed lighter this week. Like a little more of the doom and gloom, buried pessimism had been burned out of him. It was nice to see, even if Jack's own not-so-buried pessimism had him worried it was going to come bite them in the ass.
"Besides, it means I can ask you guys to help me move again guilt-free," Jill said brightly. She patted her tom.
"You're moving?" That was news.
"Thinking about it," she said. "You know how much of a pain in the ass it is to get anywhere from fucking Bergen Beach? I know I was in my post-breakup misery phase, but what the hell was I thinking?"
"That it was affordable and available and very far from--?" Jack offered.
"... Yeah. But it was still stupid," she said. "Anyway, I'm thinking of moving a little closer to you guys. Inwood maybe. Or Washington Heights."
"I dunno, if you ask Dane, that's still practically on the other side of the planet," Jack offered.
"Dane thinks anywhere west of the Hudson, east of the East River, and north of 96th is the other side of the planet. Hell, I think he thinks there's a customs checkpoint at Cathedral Parkway," Jill replied. "I'll settle for anywhere I won't have to change trains twice to see you guys."
His instinct was to argue with her, just for arguing's sake. But he didn't want to - they'd missed having Jill nearby this past year. It'd be nice to have her. And that was a weird thing to think about. Finding it nice. To have someone else nearby. "I mean, yeah, he still hasn't forgiven his sister for moving to Queens," Jack said, watching traffic crawl on by.
Jill parked her hands on her hips. "How's he doing anyway?" she said. "He's been a little quiet with me. Trent too, but at least I can bully him into submission."
Jack took a deep breath. "Getting better?" he said. "His sister dragging up everything that happened with James a million years ago has not been great for his head, but I think he's starting to compensate. The gigs help. Of course now that that's settling a little he's moving on to stressing out about me being at Fandom half the week."
"I mean," Jill said, eyeing him. "You do have a track record."
"I do have a track record," Jack agreed, sighing. "But it's just a few more weeks. And I agreed to go to family dinner with his sister again to play buffer, so I'm doing all I can to win my points back." He glanced at her, realized she was still eyeing him, and added, "I'm really not going anywhere. I'm good here. It's home."
"Okay," Jill said.
"You don't have to give me the skeptic voice," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "I mean it. I'm good."
"I just said okay," she repeated.
"Sore spot," he said.
"I noticed."
Jack rubbed the back of his head and stuck his hand in his pocket, searching for his phone. Any messages about the ride yet? "So how big is this venue again?" He had not been the logistics guy on that one.
That deep sigh said he still wasn't off the hook, but he was being given some respite. "I think about seven hundred?"
It was only the Force that kept Jack's phone from shattering immediately upon impact with the curb.
Oh, space.
[[ nfb, nfi. ]]
