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Even though Vic is getting better about not being the family servant, he does enjoy cooking, and he's in the kitchen just finishing up a pile of grilled cheese sandwiches. There's fresh lemonade made, and Vic is actually dressed today, in shorts and a t-shirt. He's humming off-key, with a bounce in his step. Someone had a good morning.
Kellan comes rolling in, fresh out of the shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt, his hair damp from the shower. He makes his way out and in the direction of the scent of grilled cheese sandwiches. Pausing by Vic, he wraps his arms around his waist from behind and peers over his shoulder. "Man that smells good." He gives Vic a warm squeeze and then reaches around him to grab a sandwich and make off with it, flashing a grin.
Kaleb was gone for a day and a half, with notice, and a phonecall to kellan with his tmietable so everyone would be adaquately informed that all things were safe and sound. Hell he even drove somewhere and survived it. Who knew. Today Kaleb was stepping out of the wardrobe coming back in making myriad annotations in his book now that it is back. Yes. The archiect was making plans for all teh new spaces. "Moooooooooooorning." He didn't look up when he made a beeline for the coffee pot.
There's still coffee in the pot, so Kaleb lucks out. When Kellan wraps his arms around Vic, Vic stops what he's doing and wraps his arms around Kellan's shoulders. He kisses him sweetly, then lets him go to abscond with a sandwich. Which gets a laugh from Vic. "There's plenty for everyone," he says. He finishes off the last sandwich, putting it on the plate, and he brings both plate and lemonade to the table. "How was Boston?" he asks Kaleb.
Kellan returns Vic's kiss with a broad grin. "Yes, but stolen sandwiches taste better," Kellan says as he slides into a seat and tears into that grilled cheese like it had insulted his brother. Who knew Kellan was part shark. He glances over his shoulder as Kaleb steps out of the wardrobe. "I'm still getting used to that," he comments idly. "Furniture to another dimension. I really keep thinking we're going to end up pantsless in Narnia one of these times." He glances over at the wardrobe suspiciously.
Kaleb was about to answer Vic when he switched tracks pouring coffee. "It doesn't go to another dimension. It goes to the warehouse district of Brooklyn." Huge difference, just ask him. "Did you ever get your pants back Kellan?" he paused and squint at the wardrobe as if it were trying to plot against his actual wardrobe. Eyes are on you, box! To Vic he replied smoothly, "Boston waaaaas," He paused and nodded in his approval, "Pretty terrific actually. We did not bring an otter home." Kellan might be trolling Vic in a Kaleb suit(tm) seriously. At least he was in a good mood.
"You have a point," Vic tells Kellan, regarding stolen sandwiches. He snags one for himself and snaps into it. Mmm, melty cheese. "Brooklyn has a wardrobe district?" Another bite, mmm. The youth's appetite has not suffered for his recent trauma. He regards Kaleb with a knitted brow. "Were we anticipating an otter? I really need to start paying more attention."
"No," Kellan says with a slight shake of his head. "And I liked those pants." But they are gone forever, as well as whatever he had in his pockets at the time. Thankfully it wasn't his wallet. There's a slight blink at the otter comment and Kellan says "I'm not entirely sure that we can have pets here. Maybe. But I think we've already exceeded the weight limit with the bird." He gives a sidelong grin, clearly just kidding. He likes the Jay. We keeps the Jay.
Kaleb was not one to elaborate over much without prodding and widened an amused grin to Vic, "No we had no plans to get one which is really why it's best I'm not standing here going 'hey guys, do we know anyone that knows how to train an otter? I need to throw money at them.' Buuuuut otherwise Boston went surprisingly well. I didn't know I could have a date without disaster or incident. Goooood the lobster was good too. But no, no otter adoptions. And as far as weight limit don't birds have hollow bones? Why's Jay's ass so damn heavy for a big bird?" He turned to teh patio and said a little louder, "Jay, why are you like unto a paperweight there, buddy?" He shook his head and grabbed a sammich. "Seriously, that's a shame about the pants. Yours or mine? I can't find by boating shorts." He was in a pleasant mood. It was weird. "Good job onteh sandwich Vic." Yup. Definitively weird.
Vic's eyes widen. "It was a date? Are you and Maximus…" He grins a sly grin. "How was it? Dish out the details, man." He glances to Kellan, bright-eyed and delighted. Kaleb had a date, Kellan! He wolfs down his sandwich and reaches for another in the pile. "Forget the pants, I want to hear about how this thing went."
Kellan grins a little when Kaleb talks about the unplanned otter and that things went well in Boston. He'd been kept apprised at least of when Kaleb was going to be coming back, so there was little worry. He grins and says, "That's awesome that things went well." He chuckles at Vic's delight and then he nods, "It appears that he did, indeed, have a date that did not end poorly." The pants are drooped. Wait. The conversation about the pants is dropped. "So, tell us how it went before Vic bursts." He reaches over and grabs another sandwich.
Kaleb squint at Vic and went back to his regularly haughty scheduled programming. He squint at Vic about to explode with glee and get glitter all over the damn rug. Glitter will never come out either. He finished his bite of his sandwich and hoped it would pass when Kellan likewise prompted him and there was a sigh of defeat. He was not getting out of this one alive. He sipped his coffee, "Ya know, I'd like to say we drove out there and fought off alien invaders and rescued an otter but none of that happened. We got to see the harbour, Maximus fell in love iwth an otter and told me how he used to have cats." He downplayed that one a li- okay a LOT. They were attack snow leopards, but why were those details important? "We had a great dinner and got some things out on the table and decided to stick around another day and go into the market do shopping and find something ridiculous. I got a new coat. It's pretty fly but… it was… pretty excellent. Turns out we have a lot in common."
Vic might just explode, it's true. He is practically vibrating with glee. "Kaleb, that's so groovy. I'm glad you two are hitting it off. He's, um, interesting. And I can see how you two would have a lot in common." He looks to Kellan, excited. Kellan, Kaleb had a good date! He squeezes Kellan's hand, then helps himself to a third sandwich. "We should do a double date so we can get to know this guy better."
Kellan can't help but grin, both at Kaleb's reticense and Vic's excitement as he makes his way through his second sandwich a little more slowly than the first one now that he's not quite as hungry. There is a serious appreciation for melted cheese, however. "That's awesome. You'll have to show us the new coat." Then Vic suggests a double date and he considers for a moment then nods, "Yeah, that could be fun. I like Max. He knows how to have fun." He went bowling with them, after all.
Kaleb bit his lip and thought about all that. was it all? no but it was a start. He wasn't one to over emote or gush. he was still in a unrepressed good mood. hell he was even warming a reluctant grin at them, "Yeah, my rights for picking on Vic just went away I suppose given he's…what? four times my age?!" Kaleb shook his head, "Whatever. He's got a lot going on though and still took time out for us. I'm just glad I could take him out and let him know that means something you know?" His lips pressed together and his brow furrowed with some frustration, "Was hard though, going out. The people. I mean I know you've always had to be constantly aware, Kell, but that? That part sucked. The shoebox is so stupid." He took a deep breath and knew Kellan could translate that.
Vic grins as Kaleb says he can't pick on Vic anymore. The mote takes Kellan's hand. "Nothing wrong with not letting age be an obstacle," he says. His smile fades into pursed lips. "Yeah, the part where you have to be on your guard constantly is no fun. Small price to pay though for the right someone." The look he gives Kellan is so sappy it could be poured on a pancake.
Kellan laughs at that a little bit and says "You're the mote in that relationship!" There's a purely mischievous look on his features and his eyes sparkle with amusement. "You totally lose rights for picking on ME! It's not Vic you were picking on." But he seems to be in a great mood, finding all of this vastly entertaining. He winds his fingers with Vic's and leans in against his shoulder contentedly. Happy Kellan is Happy. Though he does nod when Kaleb mentions the shoebox in the closet. "Yeah, it's a little hard not to, you know, just kiss, or hold hands, or even look at each other too long just in case someone's going to get crazy about it." He looks over at Vic and grins though, "But.. I would not trade it for anything. I'm alright with being on my guard in public to be happy at home."
Kaleb squiiiiiint at his twin. he wasn't wrong, but oh so much squinting. His jaw tightened as if for rebuttal and his head hung. "I'm a mote." Though he did bark back, "I deended you! That was Jay who said that!!" He sighed and looked into his coffee. "Still, yeah. I dunno if it's cause he's an engineer or if it's that he kinda grew up by his own devices trying to look out for his brother or just also got told most his life ya know 'you're awful, you're broken. Why are you like you? Goddamn it why don't you have a soul?' He gets me when I don't say anything and doesn't make me justify who I am or how I feel. It's 'what are we going to do about this?' if something goes wrong and it's really nice… not feeling alone around someone. Well… outside of family." He drew a square mimicing the ceiling with a finger indicating his brothers in apartmentage here being the standard and exception. It was also clear that Kaleb had a history of dating superficial social climbers historically. Ugh.
"Being a mote is pretty cool," Vic points out. He leans against Kellan, shoulder to shoulder, and he steals a quick kiss. "Totally worth it," he murmurs. "Sometimes it's like… like it builds up the tension so when you're finally alone, it's explosive." His cheeks color a touch, and he doesn't go into details about Kaleb's brother and him and explosiveness. "At least you'll always be safe here," he adds. "We'll make sure you two have space."
"Being a mote is pretty cool," Kellan says, seeming to agree wholeheartedly that Vic is pretty damned cool. Then he blushes a bit and coughs when Vic mentions tension, the color touching his ears. Suddenly his sandwich becomes VERY interesting. Thankfully for his embarassment's sake, Vic doesn't go into details. He just nods mutely in agreement — having someone around who just accepts you and asks how he can help is a pretty groovie thing, oh and that whole safety and space thing too.
Kaleb arched an eyebrow to Vic who only got a very studious, "SO I noticed. Oh, important point here," You're welcome Kellan, "Have you checked out the space on the other side of the wardrobe? Billy had to do some sort of… well I won't pretend to know how it works. He widdled his fingers so I can go through. You open it with your good hand," to which the southpaw lifted his coffee to emphasize, "You get into the coat closet. You open it with your non-dominant hand," He waved the crust of his sandwich, "You go to the base. He calls it a lair but it's a base."
"You're left-handed," Vic finally figures out. "You do things differently and I didn't even think about why." He snags a fourth sandwich. Mote's gotta eat. "So what's this base like? Is it a beach? So far all I've seen is a beach. Which would be kind of cool, if you think about it." He squeezes Kellan's hand and offers him a sheepish smile, but he's not sorry.
Kellan glances over at the wardrobe and shakes his head. He hadn't tried it out just yet. There had been things going on and it was a relatively new thing that just sort of showed up in the apartment. He wasn't going to go poking about without an instruction manual. "So.. dominant hand to get in, non-dominant hand to go to the lair. How do you get back?" Because this is an important partof this whole process to Kellan. Not that getting home from Brooklyn is hard, but you know. He grins over at Vic and gives his hand a squeeze, even as the color starts to fade from his ears. He is right-handed.
Kaleb seemed undaunted by Vic and Kellan being snuggly. His brother was happy therefore all was right in teh world and he would burn down any part of it that so happened to threaten it. ahem. "Same principal. there's an adjacent door in the lai-…in the base." No, Billy,. he wasn't calling it a secret lair! "And Vic, while it's appreciated he does have his own place. You know, incase he winds up with an otter, and a duck, and a small army of defensible prarie dogs." It was really hard to gauge if Kaleb was serious or not. "Truthfully though the otter was pretty adorable. They do little things with their hands. Briney though."
"OldVic was right-handed so I just sort of adopted that," Vic says. "So dominant going in, non-dominant going out. Got it. Kaleb's mention of otters gets a schmoopy look from Vic. "Aw, they have little hands? How cute is that?" To Kellan, he says, "We should go to the zoo or something. I've never seen an otter with my own eyes." He finishes off his fourth sandwich, then tells Kaleb, "It's nice he's got his own place, but if you're ever hanging out here, is all I mean."
Kellan grins over at Kaleb and says, "Someday we'll have to get like a house and then we can have animals." Because this crew really needs animals on top of all the people. He doesn't seem too invested in it, though, just an idle musing. Though he laughs at the thought of Max surrounded by critters like a Disney Princess. "They are pretty cute." He then leans his head against Vic's shoulder and grins, "We should. Let's go to the zoo this weekend."
Kaleb actually lit up with a grin to Vic making a grabby gesture with his free hand lighting up on this fact, "Yeah, Vic! They have these little grabby hands! They do little people things with em too. It's pretty groovy." Okay apparently he did have to relent the sheer awesomeness of otters. There was a sly grin though, "If he gets one I'll let him know it's not coming over. Zoo does sound neat, Kellan. I might hang with Billy though. I'm coming up with improvements, aestetic and defensible, for the Contingency Plot-o-real estate. And for the new apartment. Putting in an improvement I think Jay's gonna dig. I found these collapsable mock up hammocks. THought I'd grab a couple for poppin up on the patoio so he doesn't have to hang out in the chair all teh time."
"Yes," Vic says, "let's go this weekend." He's such a happy fellow, and today is no exception. Going to the zoo, whee! "I want to see all the animals. Like penguins. They're little birds wearing tuxedos." What's not to love about little birds wearing tuxedos? So fancy. "Do you think Jay's going to keep sleeping on the patio even though he'll have his own room?"
Kellan grins a little and shrugs his shoulders, "He can sleep wherever he's comfortable. We should set up a hammock or two on the patio so people can sleep out there when they want to." He considers this and then nods, "I think that's a good idea, actually." Then he says, "Zoo this weekend, it is, then! Sounds like fun." There's a broad grin at the mention of penguins. He nods to Kellan in understanding, though. "That's cool. Vic and I can go, and maybe Jay if he wants to come."
Kaleb looked…pleased. Very pleased. Any other tpoic and he probably wouldn't care but architectural improvements he took personally. He looked down at the sketch pad in his hand and flipped past what looked like wall drawings of interiors. "Vic, make a list of stuff that you think we'd want in a break room if you could. We're needy and I don't… you're good at understanding that part. Besides, I'm thinking first aid, water, and what not. Billy can't always be there and it's wrong to rely too heavily on him for menial demands. Something about eggs and baskets. I don't know how they're sold. Seems inefficient to use baskets. They'd break."
"Big fridge," Vic says first off. "For snacks and cold drinks. That way if we ever end up holed up there for a duration, we're set. Maybe we can get one of those sofas that folds out to a bed. Between that and the hammocks, we'd be able to sleep if we had to." He takes a drink of his lemonade. Then he says, "It depends on how you stack them. The eggs, I mean."
Kellan gets himself a glass of lemonade and listens as the two talk about the lair. He takes a sip from it and then reaches for one more sandwich because, mm cheese. He starts nibbling on it and says, "Yeah, should have some water on hand just in case. Probably some means of communication.. you know.. since I can't brainspeak more than a block. Just in case. Plus, don't secret lairs always have radios or something?" He grins.
Kaleb warmed a grin with pride at Kellan, "Lemme worry about the radio, though… truth be told after a block I usually got terrible range too. Okay I'll arrange to have a phone line installed. There's ways to make that discrete." He wasn't going to say how and was certain people would rather not know. It was jotted down on the list next to stove and 'unfolding living room'. "Hammock is good. Couple flip outs are good too. I can talk to Karma at school and see what she recommends for a lightweight med bay. Jay an' you and Teddy are durable. Kellan and I are not." He said with much dignity and lack of enthuasim, "As much as it entices me to hide behind Jay's wingspan and yell 'aah!' I don't thin it's fair or feasible. So, jsut a thought."
"Hey, if Maximus invented that helmet for you, maybe he could make you some kind of body armor." He gives Kellan another squeeze and gives him a lingering kiss. "It is actually my turn to pick up," he says as he rises and starts to gather up dishes. "It might not empower you like us, but if it's bullet-proof, that wouldn't be s bad, you know?" He thinks as he carries dishes to the sink. Space to practice our various tricks would be nice, to. Especially ones that can be used in tandem with each other."