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It was later in the afternoon and not evening. Kaleb Miller was packing, then unpacking and then repacking and now everything was out of boxes and mostly in piles around the room and almost back where it all started. Echo's hands were in fists. He took a deep breath, about faced and walked briskly to the record player and then- moved very slowly to lift the arm of the record needle and then flipped the album and set it back down. Today was the Four Tops. The needle was replaced and he went back over to his drafting table, paused and jotted a few lines, and went back to figuing out how to put his life in boxes when he did and didn't want to.
Jay's getting back from an afternoon outing and is practically glowing when he drops his small duffle bag down by his daybed, nudging it under the bed where most of his stuff ends up. His hair is windwhipped and wild and Jay's humming softly under his breath. When he notes music coming from Kaleb's room, he walks in that direction, walking right on in like he's used to doing and perching on the edge of Kaleb's bed. Jay smells like warm sunlight and wind. "Ya seem scattered. Y'allright?"
Kaleb says, "I'm not… scattered. The piles are somewhat labeled." the natty twin paused and squint at the room. "Maybe a bit. Where were.." He paused and looked Jay over. He looked… joyous? "Jay, what the hell ahppened? Is it repeatable?" Never really was one for nicities was he? Right to the crux of a matter like a bullet to the chest. It was also a fantastic way to deflect off his thoughts for at least a moment."
Jay's brows lift curiously, big green eyes going a little wider as he feigns innocence (it's the one thing he's good at feigning at all). "What do you mean, what happened?" The guy swings his feet on the edge of Kaleb's bed, then seems to realize he's doing it and stops. Totally normal, here! Pay no attention to that smile, his one off center dimple showing itself, practically bursting at the seams with sunshine. "Ah was just out. You know."
Kaleb stood perfectly still and tilted his head. There was SOMETHING Jay wasn't telling him and he couldn't put his finger on it. His stoic expression held and that steely blue gaze leveled on jay. It clearly read Something's up. Hmm. "Out. Jjay out where?" He was bewildered but there was a hint of amusement. What ever had his OCD in a snit, it went on teh back burner and the sonic listened. Finally he relaxed the inquisition, "You're in a good mood. You been in a funk for two weeks. I'm not sayin it's a bad thing. You get a record deal? You get laid? Your mom put your drawing on thefridge what's up?"
Jay's smile draws into a quick flash of a grin, eyes shining warmly at Kaleb when he puts aside his obsessive bad mood to interrogate Jay. Jay encourages this by trying to pull a hand through his wiind whipped hair, not helping the unruly look at all. "Heck, man, Mah momma's never put mah drawin' on the fridge in my life." Starting with the joke while his friend starts in on familiar ask a million questions. It's been a while since he's done that. "Ah didn't get laid. Who in their raght mind is gonna touch me, really now? C'mon, stop screwin' around." Even that self-depreciating comment is spoken with good humor and Jay shrugs. "An' you've been in a good mood lately, an' now yer all over the place. Maybe we just traded." Jay proposes the ridiculous idea with a teasing smile.
Kaleb didn't trust him. Jay was in a good mood and wanted to know why so he could figure out how to put a stranghold on the city NOT to ruin it. He paused considering this as a viable tactic and then just about faced from that. It wasn't that it was a morally insane and depraved act, it was that he was allergic to being middle management. At the observation that he's been in a sterling mood both eyebrows elevated and nodded fairly, "Eh, there is that." He looked around and the unease settled faintly back in. "I dunno. You got time for me to throw something off your ear?" He wanted to talk? Hell it looked almost as uncomfortable for him as issuing an apology.
Jay tilted his head slightly while Kaleb stared at him with that big ol' analytical brain clicking away. When he backs off a little bit, Jay relaxes smoothly and folds his legs up on Kaleb's bed. His feet were grass stained.
"Time? Yeah-yeah, of course, Kale," Jay leans forward, pressing his elbows to his knees, leaning in with interest. It's not every day Kaleb asks to talk. It's his job to make it easy on him. "Ah always got time for you. What's goin' on?"
Kaleb looked around at the boxes and furrowed his brow and said "I need to borrow you for your SOuthern Know-it-all-ness, or… whatever you call it." Redneck Truth, Kale, but that was close enough. His tongue wet his lower lip thoughtfully and his brow furrowed, "Things have been good Jay." So far this didn't sound like a problem. Why was htis an issue. "
Jay smiles briefly, exhaling a gentle chuckle. "Ah…don't know if there's a name fer it. You think Ah'm a know-it-all?" A hint of concern and self-consciousness, but it is a brief one as he watches Kale look…confused. Jay waits a beat, glances back and forth, then looks back to Kaleb. "And…that's the problem?"
Kaleb shook his head, "I didn't say you were a know-it-all, I was sayin ya did." Apparently Kaleb heard truths in ramblings. "Kentucky Truthiness? Bah, I forget." He sighed. Looking back to Jay he boggled at him like how is nothing being wrong a problem?! As there was obviously no happy answer he muttered trying an actual explaination. "I dunno. Just everything's good and-" His jaw clenched which became a slow deep breath as he gestured to his stuff and waved a hand vaguely at Jay. "Growing up I lived in a really night house. And saying that doens't even begin to cover it. I could look down on teh whole damn city where people were ants and all their problems were below me and it was jsut mostly me, Kellan, and the staff. But this.. all this?" Joy was a bit distressing for him. "I dunno. First time anyhting's felt like… home I guess? Hell even things with Max are" He looked faintly overwhelmed for a moment shaking his head and focuing back on the bird man. Whatever else was goingon Jay was somehow the easiet person in the world to talk to. "They're really really good. I'm a betting man, Jay. How long does a good streak hold out. I don't… I dunno. Moving's stressing me out. I don't want that to go away and things are moving and it's eating at the back of my head like Kale, let go now… but I don't wanna."
Jay listens quietly, his hands on his knees at first, then slumping down further, until his forearms hit his legs and wings lift high above his head, feathers splayed over Kaleb's bed. Focused and thoughtful, he lets Kaleb talk it out, flicking him an encouraging twitch of a smile when he turns back in his direction after looking frustrated around his room. Sympathetic. "That's the tough part, ain't it? Knowin' you got somethin' good, an' knowin' how easy it is to lose it."
Kaleb sat back, hips against the edge of his drafting table. Arms folded across his chest and he looked around thoughtfully. Okay at least two of these piles could be combined. That was…progress. He was only moving 100 feet. This shouldn't be a catastrophe. Looking back to Jay shifting a bunch and half melting into a position of thoughtful comfort the sonic nodded. "Yeah. Stuff is… reliable. It just does what you tell it to do. People? People wake up and decide the world is shiny and they lose their fixation and look for the next opportunity." His brow furrowed and he shook his head at Jay, "Look I know… there's a lot going on. It's just really the first time I've ever had anything… good like this I guess. There's like a weird sense of balance to it. I jsut don't know what to do to make it not fucked up and go away."
Well, Jay can't very well tell him that he's wrong, that's for sure. The young man perks his brows up and drops his chin, looking down at his hands as they come together, gripping each other with fingers laced. "Yeah, Ah can appreciate that, Kale." He agrees, evenly, a tiny, ironic smile touching his mouth in appreciation. His cheek hollows a moment while Jay stares at his fingers, returning to normal when he takes a breath, trying to think up the right words. "Ah don't know what Ah can tell you, Kaleb. People…people are people. Yeah, okay, we got different flavors of people, but people are always people." Jay lifts his head and modifies before Kaleb can correct him or split hairs.
"Relationships, friendships, partnerships, all that, is based on the agreement of two folks. You gotta say yes and /they also/ gotta say yes. It ain't a vote system. And you can't /make/ folks do what you want like you can things." HAHAHAHA Jay, so says you! "That's…the scary part." Jay tells him, honestly, shaking his head softly. "You gotta just…trust, an' try to do everything that you can to make sure yer bein' fair to that other person. An' even then sometimes…" Jays eyes lower, touching back on his folded hands as his smile vanishes, looking saddened a moment. Just a moment, then a faint smile flicks up onto his mouth, frail as he looks up to Kale again. "Sometimes it just comes apart because it just does. There ain't no 'safe spot' where they can't change their mind any more. If someone decides to say no one day…then…then you just gotta respect it."
Boy is he drawing on some hard fucking firsthand experience right there, trying to smile softly, sympathetically to his friend and his fears. "Ah get it. Ah'm afraid, too. Ah'm always afraid." Jay shrugs softly.
Kaleb slowly arched an eyebrow at Jay. He trusted Jay enough to let him get the whole thought out before committing to reaction. When the different flavours of people were amended it received a slow nod of agreement. Both eyebrows went up when Jay said that you can't just tell someone something. He murmured objectivly, "Well some folks can, but really… You can't keep someone in a position like that and feel like it's real at the same time." Boooooy did he know that one. His arms unfolded a bit and one hand palmed and rubbed his face really processing that.
His breathing grew a bit shallow and finally he looked up at his roan winged roommate and shrugged, "Look, Jay, I know you're here because I told you ya know it's practical. We're getting hunted down out there," go on ask him how! "and you're a real decent sort. I didn't want to see it happen to you while you're standing there telling me you got a dead roommate and a thrashed apartment. it's no fucking way to liveI want… better for you." Almost a shame he didn't have kids. He's gettin really good at that line. "You were never really given a choice." Don't ask him how, jsut trust him. Please Jay do not ask. Oh so many fingers crossed. "I know you haven't been like really enthuastic about all this … stuff… and " His brow furrowed and goddamn he was shit with words. Every fiber in him wanted to scream JAY YOU ARE MOVING WITH US and just be done with it. There was that tiny tiny give-a-shit part that declared Jay deserved better and he supposed that meant from him too. Instead he settled on, "I'm just afraid to come home and you aren't gonna be there, man. I'm afraid Kellan and Vic will jsut go get their own place and- well… I mean they did. This isn't technically my apartment." OH the truth is out! He squint an eye, "I let themknow I was staying."
Jay smiles very softly to kaleb when he still finds something to contest in the way Jay says stuff, his expression still fond, shaking his head at the other fellow. "Yeah okay, there are folks who make folks do stuff, but that ain't really raght now either, is it? Treatin' people like stuff." Oblivious Jay is oblivious.
Quieting again, Jay remains attentive while Kaleb explains a few things, he smiles crookedly when Kaleb admits that he wasn't supposed to be in that room. "Yeah, Kel mentioned that that wasn't really a bedroom an' that's how he was able to convince yer folks that y'all needed a bigger place. Ah knew." He shrugs softly, his tone says somehow that it still means something significant that Kaleb actually fessed up to it.
The rest. The stuff about him? Sigh. Jay frowns and dips his head a little bit, wincing and shaking his head. "Ah keep tryin' to explain that the stuff with mah roommate was different. He's an alien, not a mutant. It was…Ah don't know…alien stuff. Magic." Not that it makes it a whole lot of difference. Hunting weirdos is still hunting weirdos. Even by other weirdos. "But Ah understand how that's alarmin'. Especially now, knowin' what you saw." Jay gets it. Sort of. As much as he's allowed to get it.
Quiet for a thoughtful moment, Jay stares at Kaleb, considering his next words carefully. "Why are you afraid of me not livin' here, Kale? Is it because yer afraid of somethin' happenin' to me, or is it because of somethin' else?"
Kaleb bit his lip and fitcheted withthe edge of his cuff. "Yeah… well… I'm not the kind of people people normally ask to come around. I get a little used to inviting myself sometimes." His eyebrow arched and he let Jay talk. Alien roommate? Magic?! … you know what, sure why not. He cracked a half grin, "Yeaaaaaah, datng someone part alien? I'm start to get the idea." he tongued his eye tooth thoughtfully. Yeaaaah that was a thing. Blue eyes shot back to Jay from teh window and he shook his head answernig honestly, "Jay I'm always gonna worry about something happening to you and eeryone one of us. I'm also just… afraid I'm gonna lose my best friend alright? I like not being able to sleep and having a scotch with you on the patio or you being… here to tell me when I'm being a bonehead." He considered this. He looked faintly surprised. Hey, words…where he wanted them. Check it out!. Well since he was on a roll he added in frankly, "I'm afraid when you have a shit day you'e not going to have someone there TO sit on the porch with you and try to figure out how to convince buildings to spell out things with the windows. I dunno. You belong here, Jay. I can't fix the family you were given much more than you can fix mine, but I mean we got this….cray 5th Avenue family. Aaaand I think it's pretty good. I'd miss it."
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Kaleb isn't the only one who seems surprised when all of the stars in the universe seem to align and Kaleb Miller finds Words. Seriously, all of them must have aligned. On every axis. In fact, if you look in the sky right now, it looks like there is ONE star, because they are all aligned. Jay, with his green-stained feet and wind-whipped appearance, looks rather … impressed. Then proud of Kaleb. Hey. Talking stuff can work!
Okay, okay, focus, Guthrie. And don't draw attention to it or else it'll stop, right?
Jay takes in a deep breath and tries to process things quickly now that the surprise has worn off. "I guess Ah didn't realize. Vic tried to say somethin' similar to that recently, but Ah figured that it was kinda just his reaction to change. He's still real young, and Ah figured that it was just like when my little brother throws a tantrum because something changes in the house. You…you Ah understand wanting me around. Vic and Kel never seemed to have a whole lot of reason to care a way or the other, and Ah figured once you an' Max got more serious that, well…" Jay seems a little awkward and glances out the door, toward the rest of the apartment, thoughtful. "Ah worry, bein' the one that doesn't pass around here. Ah worry that Ah'm going to endanger y'all. Worry about feelin' like a third wheel all the time, or if things change, what happens then. So, Ah imagine I figure if I'm just buyin' time, may as well make it easier than get all attached, you know?"
Kaleb blinked and listened. OH GOD he is - wait, he was actually pretty good at that part. Call the parade and the marching band off. This one was typical. His eyebrow did arch up a titch though and was replaced with a grin that actually mimiced humility. Like a 3rd cousin of humility… twice removed. "Max can't replace ya, Jay. You're still my best friend. You always got a place whit me. Like… my brother that isn't actually related or something. Besides, " He had to help Jay put this one into perspective breaking it down with the frank truth for what it was, "Jay, I'm dating a guy who will just as likely march up here in high heels and a glitter mini dress. And they'll match and he'll somehow wear it better than the woman up in 7A. I guarantee you you could be running through here buck naked with both wings up in the air and you won't be the one they're looking at. And if anyone says a goddamned thing about either of you? I'll have words with them." He winked and warmed a grin to him shaking his head. "Jay, when have you ever known me to let go of anything that was mine? You're my brid, man. And I'm your crazy Acme pocket asshole."
Jay actually looks awkward as hell when Kaleb mentions Max's crossdressing and winces painfully, his cheeks heating up and scooping a hand through his hair a few times. But he listens none the less, flitting a small smile that doesn't seem entirely convinced back to Kaleb. Still, he tries to draw back around to Kaleb's concern and what had him so flustered. "So, you think that that'll stop if Ah end up not staying here?"
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Kaleb really was still trying to wrap his brain around that, though seemed a bit less alarmed than he usually did where he jsut tried to ignore that it was going on and focus down on the why. The sonic looked to the grass stained bird man for a long time. His arms crossed loosly over his chest from where he leaned sitting back against his desk. He watched Jay for a long time and his assurances in expression faltered letting him be more frank with him in general. His shoulders shrugged. "If I'm honest? I'm afraid they will, man. I don't want to lose that. Neither one of us have much a good thing and … I know if I hold onto anythin if they take that too?" His jaw set an he looked at the assorted piles of his life on the floor. "I dunno what I'd do. I don't wnat to have to think about it… But… I'd rather risk seeing how this pans out, and trying to work things forward with Max, thank not have you guys around. Why help out the people that do us wrong by pushing what little we got going for us away? That ain't loyalty. I don't wanna do that to you. God knows enough other fucking people have. Fuck them." And Kaleb? Well since seven he jsut stopped letting anyone in period.
Jay pulls his feet up onto the bed and clasps them together with his hands while he listens to Kaleb's fears about what /could/ happen and his logic on the scope of things. Following his friend's gaze around the room as all the neatly stacks of things—things that Kaleb has put all his energy and trust in until recently, because at least he knew he could control them. Jay's lips press together into a thin line, nearly a frown or as close to one as he gets reliably while he stares at Kaleb's once neatly stacked life.
His attention swings back toward his friend, flicking a maudlin little smile as he looks down to his feet, hands gripping them together tightly for a moment while his wings lift away from his back, hovering large and eked away from his frame, as if his feathers are trying not to touch him at all. He shrugs softly to the sentiment of 'fuck them' and looks up to Kaleb, trying to bravely hold on to that little smile. "It happens. Some folks are just…easier to pass on or forget about." He shakes his head a little bit, smile picking up for Kaleb. "But yer not one of them, Kale."
It was a scary talk. It was a small talk about small things that had big impact. Terrifying in a weird way. Man, Kaleb's been putting himself out there a lot this week. In an attenpt to make the uncomfortable thing more familiar he offered drily, "Well, I am kinda an ass that way." He looked up and asked finally, with all of his usual subtlty of a bullet to the chest, "So. We gonna try to do this? You in? Cause God knows I need a fuckin wingman. I might get stolen , or trip fall and accidently take over the world." He sighed shaking his head, "Think of the children, Jay."
Jay inhales a deep breath and scans the room around him at large while he holds on to it, only to have it come out in a bluster of a once formed chuckle when Kaleb pleads with him to think of the children. A rather flat look passed along to his best friend, Jay smiles crookedly just after and shakes his head. "Okay, okay, you don't gotta bring in the /children/." Yeah, it is scary. It's downright terrifying to Jay. If you never commit to something, you can't lose it. It's easier to stay lost. There's a lump in the middle of his stomach, but he nods. "Yeah. Okay. Let's try this, I suppose."
Kaleb leaned off the deska nd wandered over to Jay and reached out a hand to squeeze Jay's shoulder. A trip. And effort. Contact. Jay was winning all over the park today. It was a banner dan in proverbial Yankee Stadium therem. "Alright. We'll be confused and scared shitless together. There is one thing I gotta know…what had you in such a good mood coming in here?" No he didn't forget. He never really does, soes he?
Is it a leap year day?
Is Jay dreaming?
Has Kaleb been infected by a spore that makes you human?
Is Jay having a stroke and this is all just a halucination?
Did Billy break something?
It's a stress dream, isn't it?
Whatever the case may be, Jay looks surprised for a moment when Kaleb touches his shoulder, then smiles, reaching up to pat the hand resting on him. Good job, Kaleb. That's helpful. "Well, if nothin' else, we'll have plenty of practice bein' scared shitless together when the real crazy stuff comes down then, right?" Silver…ish lining? Jay's brows perk up when Kaleb asks his question, melting quickly into a smile, that singular dimple showing itself and Jay ddips his head down abashedly. Coming back up for air again, he shrugs and smiles at Kaleb, embarrassed over how stupid it all must look. "Ah spent the day out with Daire." Which means he's glowing now and by tonight or tomorrow he'll be listening to depressing lovesongs on repeat again. Jay can't help but smile, his wings shiver with delight as he squints at Kaleb. "It's that noticable?"
Kaleb actually hugged Jay's noggin and slapped him on the back between the wings, still not touching them. Hey, he repsected that shit. Jay kept the rustling down and Kale worked on not giving him a reason to rustle. It was short lived, and he went back to packing. "Well I'm gonna go with that went well? You're not having a panic attack and goin g Aw gawd Kale, whado Ah' do? so I'm gonna stick with, groovy. What did happen?" Too astitute for his own good
It's a miracle.
Jay's kind of smiling stupidly when Kale gives him a hugweird as it was at their levelsbut is happy to pretend it didn't happen for Kale's sake, clapping him once on the back and letting him get back to it.
"Panic attack will be later, Ah'm sure. Don't count me out, yet," Jay is at least aware of his madness and the fucked up situation that he's in. "We both flew upstate a little bit an found a little lake to go fishin' in. We flew around together some, just goofing around." It sounds simple, Jay downplaying it, though his wings are tattle tales and eke away from his back again, shivering with elation. "We got down t'fishin' and talked a bit. Sat together. He just makes me feel…secure. Like. Grounded. But not stuck in place. I feel freer with him. Just bein' able to put mah head on his shoulder or feel him lean up against me is just…" Jay goes on a little bit, then pauses and scrubs the back of his neck. "Eh. Sorry."
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Kaleb went back to sitting on the floor with his back to his desk watching his roommate tell the story. "Naw, don't apologize. I asked, Jay. So how'd… this all…work out. FIshing? really? Withworms and water and the whole to-do?"
Jay inhales a deep breath, still floating a little bit, pulling again on the silver cord of elation from earlier to bring it back around. "You gotta be a little bit more specific, Ah guess. You askin' me how fishin' went or something else?" Jay arches a brow, giving his friend an opportunity to opt out, though he smiles kindly after. "Yeah with water an' worms an' fish an' everythin'. He's a pretty able guy for fishin', he grew up up north so he ain't a full on city boy." Which just seems to make Jay all kinds of endeared. "Ah got mah old tackle box an' everythin', which was kinda nice."
Kaleb stretched out one ankle dropping over the other. There was a lazy smile warming on his face with that knowing glint that hit his eye. "See I was waitin to see if someone else got to play with your tackle box or what kinda fishin this cought up to." Kaleb might hold out hope for Jay's afternoon. Still he pressed on, "That sounds pretty fantastic though. I think kellan's been fishing before. I'd have to ask em. That still seems pretty awesome. Finding another flier to kick around with. I'm glad you got to do that. Seriously."
Well, that's well enough to make Jay's whole face flush bright with color over Kaleb's insinuation. For all his embarrassment and the soft fwip of his wings, Jay's smile holds on to his innocent features, making them seem only slightly more impish. "Ah would let that man play with mah sinker an' handle any of my rigs that he had an interest to," Jay lets the inuendo flow off his tongue like he was born doing it. THIS. THIS he can handle. THIS feels more like talking to one of his friends back home. "Ah might even be so inclined to open his tackle box up to see if he fancied hard bait or soft bait if he were amenable."
Seriously?
The mild young man grins then and looks downright lovestruck for a moment before ruffling his fingers through his hair a dipping his chin gently. "But. You know. He's currently fishin' in someone else's lake. Ah just get t'borrow him a little bit. Ah can't fault him fer not bein' the sort to stray, though…oh boy, when you went missin'? Ah practically climbed that boy like a billygoat on a mountain." His smile faulters a little bit and Jay shrugs a shoulder, peering down at his grass-stained feet thoughtfully. Just a /little/ ashamed there.
"Yeah. Yeah. Th' flight was good. It was one'a the things he told me he wanted to do with me, an' to be honest, flyin' makes me feel good when Ah get to cut loose. Gettin' to do it with him?" Jay smiles at his friend and shakes his head gently toward his friend. "Pretty damned perfect. Ah, uh, invited him to come by some time and listen to music, if you don't mind at all?" Because of course Kaleb is the one with the extensive music collection. "He and Ah are startin' a band an' we have a plan to sit down an' see where both our tastes really mesh."