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Jeb seems to have found the most run down, cheapest building he could in the most frightening part of town possible. Maybe because it was /cheap/ and that was what Jebediah was mainly looking for, what he could afford on his kind of dime (which was like, not a lot of dime. like maybe three dime). There's no fancy doorman. You had to find whatever apartment you're looking for your damn self, read the signs, the ones that you can read that is. But while the outsides aren't pretty, Jebediah had tried to make his little space as homely as he could. Jeb would have told his brothers which one to find him. 3B.
Cannonball is happy to help Jeb move his…like…duffle bag, over to his new place. And to help him grab a ratty couch from somewhere, a mattress that is mostly ok, you know…the basics. Porn mags. He's helpful! Strong. Can fly things straight up to the floor he's on as long as its shovable through a window!
Jay kept telling Jeb he didn't have to move. You know, after their awkward conversation. He continues to tell him all the way through the process, too. Continuously. Annoyingly. All the way to the new apartment that Jeb's got all situated down the way from the club. Jay shows up to fuss and give Jeb some of the excess stuff that he's gotten shipped from their mother. Like an extra hand made quilt, an excess of laundry detergent that the Millers don't even know exists. Other basic cleaning supplies and a small set of 'these are my first dishes'. Worried brother is worried and unconvinced. "…you sure you wanna do this, jeb? Ah still feel weird about you livin' alone. Ah don't like it."
"How do you know Ah ain't got a girlfriend all lined up livin' here with me? Ah'm sure. You get your room back, Kaleb's blood pressure goes down a little. And Ah live by myself where ain't no one to tell me to stop starting fights every other day." Jeb teases, trying to play it off nonchallant just like he has every day since deciding to move even though Jay keeps telling him not to go. It's easy to pretend to be brave for Jebediah. "You sound like mama, Jay. Ah'll be alright. C'mere, Ah wanna show you somethin'." He pulls his brother's sleeve to tug him to the bedroom. He's got two surprises in there. "Sam ain't worried! He even helped me move."
"Ya want me to move in too? I can, I don't mind. Not a lot going on at the mansion fer me to deal with, and I know I aint movin' in with fancy pants Miller and friends." Sam winks at Jay, then swaggers to see what's in the bedroom. Please let it be normal. No cages.
"Ah only got one bed, you're gonna have to get real cozy with me and that's why Jay kicked me out, didn't wanna snuggle with me no more, like some kind of jerk." Jebediah teases, and he makes sure that Jay knows he's /teasing/ with the tone and a squeeze of his hand on Jay's wrist. "Can't bring all your gals home neither because Ah sleep in that bed." He teases some more tossing a wink at his oldest brother while he drags Jay and guides Sam to his bedroom.
The /surprise/ there is a brand new record player, the only thing that looks new in his place and there's also a dreamcatcher in the window, made with red feathers, very familiar red feathers. It's the record player Jeb wants Jay to see. "Ah got this fer you. Saved up for it an' everythin' but you gotta come visit /me/ to use it."
"Just be glad that Paige ain't here to give you the double momma-ing, Jeb." Jay comments as he follows along toward the bedroom, giving Sam a slightly bashful smile. "Sam, Ah got a disaster prone best friend to look after who stresses himself into a migrane every time Ah even think about movin' out. You wanna come crash at my place fer a hot minute, feel free, but Ah'm thinkin' we're all a little loud fer him. Paige made him see red the other day." Green eyes widen briefly. There's a /story/ there. "Though after he decided she's okay."
"Good Lord, Jebediah!" Jay groans and smiles. "Ah told ya Ah didn't mind sharin' a bed. We've done it fer forever anyway. What'm Ah gonen do without yer boney elbow in my back?" The surprise of a record player makes Jay blink and look twice. "Oh…dang." Walking forward to take a better look at it. "That's…so cool. Ah mean, Ah only got the one record Dougie bought me fer the holidays, but this is really cool. We can start buildin' ya a proper music collection, Jeb!"
"Yeah yer friend dun like me much either, but that's because I gave him the big brother talk." They'd all know the one…the one Sam would give their friends in school, or on the playground, or in the woods, /whatever/ the situation was, anyone cozying up to one of his brothers, got the big brother talk…about being nice and what's yer angle, and that stuff. "Hey, that's swell right there. Darn…this is nice, ya been saving up yer money, huh?" He taps his fingers on it, testing it for real woodness…like a /man/.
"He don't like you because you gave him a big brother talk and had a problem with like.. them bein' queer, Sam. Queer people are just people, you know. That's the only real problem Asparagus has against you. Don't come in and talk crap about his brother. Just like Ah ain't okay with anyone sayin' bad stuff bout you, or Paige or Jay." Jebediah chastises gently, hoping that Sam doesn't hit him for it, since you know, he's the older brother and doesn't have to listen to anything Jeb says. "Well, only what Ah haven't been spending to get furniture and what Ah didn't send back to mama."
Jay has a moment of feather ruffling discomfort while Jeb explains to Sam that queer people are people too. Oooohhhh the things we don't talk about. Biting his tongue SO HARD while he dips his chin, eyeballing Sam over the top of the record player. "Didn't you get in a fight with some guy recently about talkin' some stuff, Sam? Ah thought Ah heard a whisper about it." CHANGE OF SUBJECT! "So with our next paychecks, we're goin' down to the record store an' starting you a collection, right, Jeb?" Literally anything other than the gays or Kaleb.
"Ah don't care if he's queer or if the whole lot of em is queer…I just KNOW a LOT of other shady queer folks that do terrible stuff and I wanted ta make sure that no one was gettin' dragged into some sorta…sex ring or somethin'. I've /seen/ things." A pause after that rant and Sam sighs, "Hey, you got a record? Lets hear the thing!" Change of subject indeed.
Jebediah takes a step back from Sam for a second, closer to Jay while he rants back at Jeb. He doesn't bother to pick the conversation back up but he had promised Kaleb that he would tell Sam not to be such a jerk next time he came around. He did what he promised to. "We'll get /you/ a collection, Jay, yeah. Ah got it for you. You just can't take it home because Ah want you to have a reason to come over here." He insists.
Jebediah pulls open the top drawer to his dresser and hands him a new record, this one Sam Cooke, his last one, 'Ain't That Good News'. "Ah thought Ah'd start with this one though."
He's SEEN things. Jay gives Sam a look that is slightly warning and confirmation that he hasn't told Jeb a thing about Sam or his mystery summer off, but quickly swims back towards a touched look of gratitude. Awww, Sam. Wanna make sure I'm not in a sex ring? There's a tiny quirk of Jay's mouth as he reaches over to clap Sam on the elbow with an old fashioned 'aw shucks you shouldn't have'.
"Jeb, yer the best reason Ah could have to comin' by. You didn't have to get a—Oh my lord, is that Sam's last studio album?" Cutting off his sentimental words in excitement over the album. Walking forward quickly with a ruffle and fwip of his wings as he reaches for the bright red jacket with the picture of a black man on the front. "It /is/! Jeb, this is so thoughtful. How'd ya know?"
Cannonball chuckles. "Ah think he /likes the present/, Jeb. Way to go on that one." The eldest smiles…smiles the smile of the proud, as the young wild child lures the birb with sweet sounds on a fragile record player. "Might as well go buy another copy…cuz he's gonna wear that one out."
Jeb nods when Jay asks if the album is what it is. "Your last show, Jay. Ah listen when you are up on stage. Ah always listen. And Ah know how upset you and Lettuce were.. Ah knew you would like this. Was hard to find, but nothin' is too much work for you." Jeb says with a big smile, glad to see that Jay likes it and he looks over at Sam, beaming when Sam praises him too. He's gonna miss this, having someone in the house to be proud of him, even if it's just over picking a good gift. "Ah only don't listen to y'all when yer tellin' me not to get in any more fights."
Jay takes the album in his hands, flashing a smile in Sam's direction as well while he whispers out a lightly embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, Ah know, Ah get excited about new music." He laughs it away and immediately walks over to the record player to carefully slip the record out with sleeve, then the acetate out of the sleeve. His feathers are all a-shiver while he readies the player, making sure everything is in order. "Ah feel bad though. We should be gettin' /you/ gifts, not the other way round."
"Well…/I/ got him somethin'. Hang on…hang on." Sam has a problem. The problem is that he put it in his pocket…and his pants are so unbelievably snug that he's trying to wedge some fingers in there to get it out and he literally has to stretch upwards to do it. Finally he digs it out though. It makes a jingle sound in his hand, and there it is…a /keychain bottle opener/ that has the logo for the Kentucky derby on it. Literally 3 things in one…/reminder of home/, bottle opener, and keychain. He offers it over to Jeb.
Jeb's feather's start to shaking and Jebediah smiles even wider. He likes when Jay communicates with his feathers. "Ah don't need anythin' but for y'all to not ferget about me now that Ah don't live with you. That's all." Jeb insists while Jay puts the record on. When Sam says he got Jeb something, he turns around. "You ain't had to.. Sam.. you ever think about wearin' pants that fit? How does all of your.. you know… your everythin' fit comfortably in there?" Jeb teases.. or he starts to tease and gets embarassed about it, flushing.
He reaches out for the keychain and pulls it close to inspect it. "This is really awesome. Even has the derby logo on it! Thank you, Sam! I can put my key on it!" He says excitedly bouncin' a little in place.
Jay is fiddling with the record player while Sam digs around in his pocket. Setting the needle and turning when Sam finally pulls the keychain out, Jay tilts his head to one side, smiling fondly at his older brother. "You might wanna wash that keychain, Jeb. It's been pushed up against Sam's balls all day." Teasing with a fond tone, Jay let the sonorous, soulful music start up as he elbows Sam playfully. "That is real cool, Sam. Smart an' has utility. You still got the key to mah place to put on there, too." Looking between his two brothers. "Are you really gonna move in, Sam?" His tone seems to say 'god yes'.
Cannonball rubs the back of his neck. "Well…heh…ah think its a smart idea. We work at the same place, we could split the rent and food and so on…and ah I can get some more furniture, it aint that big oa deal. What do ya say, Jeb? Can yer big brother hang out with ya?" Sam gives Jeb the absolute total illusion of a choice.
"And mah dick is /fine/../don't worry about it." Sam answers to those worried about squishing.
Jeb chews on his bottom lip when Sam /asks/ him if he can move in, like if he said no Sam wouldn't just move in anyway because he's Sam and he's Replacement Dad 1 and Replacement Dad 2 is also here if Jebediah argues. Like they won't just harass him until he agrees, or like someone won't just throw him over a knee for more percussive convincing if he continues to refuse. "Well, Ah mean, Ah don't know how Ah'm supposed to just sleep alone in that big bed. If you wanted to stay here, you could. Could help with rent. Ah suppooooose you could stay. Would make Jay stop worryin'."
Jeb turns bright red. "Ah'm not concerned about your dick! Ah don't want to talk about your dick anymore. House rule number one, no talkin' about your dick." Jeb says very seriously.
Jay peers at Jeb with expectation, but tries not to look like expectation. There is no way that they're leaving at this point without some kind of plan worked out. Jay folds his arms loosely over his broad chest, then slides his hands down his front and into his pockets when he realizes that the stance isn't helpful to not look like expectation. Relief and a little bit of a smile, Jay reaches over to clap Sam on one bulky bicep. "Well there we go. You got a new roomie, anda new rule." Amused greatly by this.
Cannonball smiles at Jay and nods to Jeb. "Sure…no more talkin' about it. No problem. That…I can do. Do you wanna know about my exploits in the bar's bathroom or…the stock room? Or…is that off-limits too?" Sam grins crookedly and crosses his arms.
Jeb had looked nervous with Jay standing there with his arms crossed at him. "It's not like y'all were gonna let me say no." He points out at his two mean older brothers who do dumb things like worry about him being alone. "Ah don't wanna hear about any of that either because that's not health code friendly. You can't be screwin' on the shelves at the bar, Sam." And the color in his cheeks moves right up to the tip of his ears. That's why he doesn't want to talk about it, because it was a health code violation. Not because he was still a sweet little virgin.
Jeb pulls the key to his new apartment out of his pocket and then the one to Jay's, hesitating. "Don't Ah give you this back?" He asks but he doesn't hold the key out to Jay, instead keeps it close to his chest, like he's afraid it somehow severs his contact with Jay.
Jay smiles and puts a hand over his eyes, silent bouts of laughter pressing up against his closed lips, shoulders shaking when Sam goes on about his exploits at the bar. His ears turn a little pink and wings shiver as well. "/Lord/, Samuel!" The hand over his eyes whips out to smack Sam across the shoulder while Jay emits a soft sound of laughter. "Yer insatiable. You got too much of Daddy in you!"
Phrasing.
The offer of the key back makes Jay shake his head. "Naw, keep it. One of mah family ought to have a key in in case stuff gets dicy. You got one, Sam's with you, that's perfect."
Cannonball chuckles. "Ahmm just tryin' ta get his face ta explode." Sam gestures at Red Face McGee here. "Ahm just teasin'…ah aint as randy as I make it sound sometimes." A pause. "Ah gotta get work done, ya know."
"All Ah'm amazed at is how the hell you ain't managed to knock no poor gal up so far with how often yer.. y'know… doin' it." If that doesn't scream 'Jeb is still a virgin' then nothing does. Doin' it. Doing the sex. Do the sex thing. He shakily pushes Jay's key onto his key ring and avoids everyone's eyes as his face retains that color, red as Jay's feathers.
Jay's feathers. That reminds him. "Oh. Jay!" He gestures to the bedroom window where the dreamcatcher was set. "Look."
Cannonball crosses his beefy arms and looks at the dreamcatcher with real bro-angel feathers in it. He earns himself a whole bunch of points at not pointing out how much gay-potential that art choice is.
There's decidedly NOT a glance sidelong to Sam when Jeb boggles over how he doesn't have a hundred kids running around. Instead, Jay looks at the dreamcatcher. Oh look! Injun stuff! How nice! Then tilts his head with a half smile. "Are those mah secondary feathers what fell out after Ah got trampled at the concert?"
Jeb smiles and nods. "Ah.. uh.. Ah… Ah kept em. Supposed to like, catch your bad dreams or somethin', keep you havin' em. Ah don't know how much Ah believe in all that hocus pocus, but if anythin' was ever gonna come jump me in the middle of the night, it'd be you that came to protect me, so Ah thought it wouldn't hurt to add some extra luck." Jeb says nervously pulling at his sleeves when he speaks. Waxing poetic stupid, which is the only kind of poetic Jebediah can achieve.
"It's an injun thing, raght? Man…" Jay grins, quick and brief back at Jeb. "Maybe Dougie's raght. Maybe you are the artsy one outta us." Not at all creeped out by the sentiment or that people are collecting his body parts. That's been happening for a while now.
Jeb blushes harder at the idea of being the 'artsy' Guthrie because being artsy means you're gay, it's another word for queer, isn't it? He rubs at his elbows and sits down on the bed as Sam goes off to collect his things to move into this apartment. "Ah'm not. Maybe Ah'm just good with my hands in a way that doesn't involve punchin' stuff…" He says, training his eyes on the floor. "Jay, can I talk to you about somethin'? Somethin' you don't tell Sam about?"
It's a citified world, Jebediah! Apparently it does not. Nevermind that the only actual /artist/ that Jay knows is a VERY gay and flouncy elf. "Okay /fine/, artsy's a bad word fer it." Jay shakes his head, knowing what the problem is already, he smiles and rounds on Jeb again. "Yer like granddad was, you know? Yer a craftsman." That sounds better, right!? "Ah saw the stuff you did on yer table, too. That's really cool stuff, man. People would seriously love that stuff if ya got real good at it." Encouraging and all smiles.
The question of something without Sam shifts that attitude a little and Jay rubs the back of his neck. "Ah…guess so? Yeah, of course, Jeb. Ah don't gotta tell Sam if you don't wanna." Not like he isn't keeping secrets for Sam, too.
Craftsman does sound a lot better. Artsy sounds queer and girly and Jeb's scared of that. He's already so much smaller, thinner.. slender. Sam's a manly man. Jay's /built/ because of his wings. Jeb doesn't have a lot going for him in his own defense besides the bruises he frequently wears and the fact that he doesn't own a single shirt or pair of pants that's not at least a size too big. "Yer a lot less likely to hit me than Sam is, Ah think." Jeb explains as to why he doesn't want Sam knowing whatever this is. Jeb rubs the back of his head and then brings his knees up to his chest. "Listen, a guy.. a guy smiled at me the other day… and it made me feel really weird, like.. really weird… and I don't know what that means."
Sam Cooke sings "Another Saturday Night" in the background while Jeb tries to explain about the unnerving experience he's had. Jay blinks, his brows arching slightly over all of Jeb's nerves, grabbing his knees like a shield. Worriedly, Jay listens, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Ohhh." His first reply thoughtful, watching Jeb's body language, he frowns a little, slowly moving to the bed as well, but out of arm's reach to give Jeb space. "It don't mean a damn thing, Sprout. Really." Jay shakes his head gently. "You don't gotta be afraid of anythin' ya feel over a smile or anythin' like that, all right? Anythin' you feel is gonna be perfectly all right."
Jeb rubs his knees so hard he might rub a new hole in his jeans as he purposely doesn't meet his brother's eyes. As if Jay… who's in a somethingship with another guy, is going to think lowly of him for having a reaction to another man smiling at him. "It made me feel.. like there were all these bugs flying around my stomach.. ain't nothing made me feel that way before. Ah hated it. But Ah might have liked it a little too."
Well fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Jay tilts his head slightly and shrugs a little bit. "Ah mean, you know how bein' a man works an' all, Jeb. Or, yer learning how it works, Ah guess. Sometimes someone will smile atcha an' it'll be confusin' an' weird an' kinda excitin'. But truth is, you don't really know what any of it means. Could be nothin'. Especially young like you are," Jay quirks a lopsided smile at his brother. "A stiff breeze used t'make me a little too excited. But you don't need to think too much about it, Jeb. Don't be afraid of it. Whatever you feel about, you know, anyone…" He shifts a little, glancing down, then back up. "You got all the time in the world t'figure it out. So it made ya feel weird an' hate and like it a little." He shrugs and smiles at Jeb. "So what? You kinda get what Ah'm sayin?""
Jay gives Jebediah a version of the talk. The becoming a man talk and Jeb is silent a real long while after, long enough to probably make Jay think he'd messed it all up before Jebediah's shoulders begin to shake, all hunched over it might look like tears could be the culprit but after a moment, a giggle tears out of Jebediah's chest, bouncing off the wall as he lies back on the bed, the laughter taking over him. "Talkin' to me about boners, in my own apartment, like ah ain't never had one. There was once a tree that looked kind of feminine when Ah was like fourteen and he just popped up like he'd seen somethin' real fine. Ah know how boners, work, Jay." He giggles hard, stomach hurting with it. "But yer right.. Ah guess it don't gotta mean nothin', huh?"
Jay is a little alarmed at first. Then unimpressed, he lids his eyes and braces both his hands against Jeb's shoulder and /shoves/ his younger brother. "Shut up then about fuckin' bugs in yer stomach if ya don't need to hear nothin' from me, you little punk!" Jay laughs, his ears turning hot.
"Well it's not a /hard on/ Ah'm having trouble with it's the weird stomach feelin's! Ah didn't need a description on how my dick works, that thing don't make no damn sense, hasn't since it started workin'! Sometimes it just stands up and Ah'm like 'what did you see?' because hell if Ah know. It's the weird stomach feelins. Is it just a stomach boner?" Jebediah says around a couple more giggles when Jay shoves him back. "Ah'm scared that the stomach feelings are.. y'know.. and everyone keeps tellin' me Ah'm artistic and sensitive.. and ah feel like Ah'm about to explode into silk and cherries at any moment. Ah really thought Ah liked girls is all and Ah don't know if you got a stomach boner for Doug… And Ah can't talk to Sam!"
Jay leans over like a proper brother and slugs Jeb in the shoulder once for good measure, lightly. Sort of. "You aint gonna explode an' start smellin' like lavender or nothin', Jebediah. For cryin' out loud." Jay laughs again and drops back down into a seated position on the bed, scooping a hand through his hair. "Ah didn't get a stomach boner fer Doug, no." He rolls his eyes and smirks, shaking his head at the funny term. "Doug didn't really come at me with anythin' but logic an'…Ah dunno, Jeb. It's different. Ah honestly don't even know if he really likes me at all, but that ain't a thing you gotta worry about. Yer stomach gets flippy could mean anythin', Jeb." Jay levels with him with a candid look. "You saw somethin' you liked, that's all. Or maybe somethin' you didn't like. You had an emotional reaction, that's all it is. The important part is t'not get all fighty about it an' jus' attack like a lotta fucked up redneck assholes like the Cabots would do—and you don't tell Momma or Jesus I said those words, okay? You don't gotta call anyone mean stuff like that, even if it's true."
"Ow!" Jeb huffs when Jay punches him though he probably deserved it. He listens to Jay talk about how Doug logic-ed him into a somethingship and how he doesn't know if Doug really likes him and that makes Jebediah sit up fast. He narrows his eyes a little when Jay curses up a storm. "You mean Ah can't tell Jesus down at the bar about it. That's /messed up/, Jay, he's my only friend. Can't believe you." Jeb teases and leans back like he's expecting to be punched again. "Ah'm callin' mama up right now and tellin' her all the bad words you been sayin' since you got to New York. She'll have plenty of opinions about it, that she'll express to you… with your own belt." He teases.
"What do you mean you don't know if Doug likes you? Is he not being good to you? Do you want me to hit him?" Jebediah says, defensive now when Jay's happiness is in question.
"You know exactly what Jesus Ah'm talkin' about Jebediah Guthrie," Jay mock-glares at Jeb, though there's no middle name so he's probably not in trouble. "An' don't tell Momma. She'll have another three hour phone call with Vic about how t'make pie crust or somethin', an' Kaleb will have a snoot about the phone bill."
"You don't gotta hit Doug, Jeb. We ain't talkin' about me right now. We're talkin' about you." Jay puts the kabash on that quickly. "Just cause you had a reaction to somethin' y'saw on a man don't mean yer queer off the bat. Don't think about that so much, okay? You don't need to worry about the homosexual stuff jus' cause, you know…" Because everyone around him seems to be seeing men? Yeeeah.
"Don't use my almost full name, makes me nervous." Jeb teases, pushing his brother's shoulder lightly. "If Ah call her and tell her you punched me too, she'll sprout her own wings and come down here and whup you proper." He mock threatens.
"We're talking about me, yeah, but if you're not happy, that's a problem to me. It's my job as your damn brother to be worried about you, just like it's your job to do the same, that's why you made sure to bring Sam along to move him in with me because you're worried about me bein' alone. Even though, Ah don't know why." As if there were any trouble Jeb could get into ALONE, pfft.
"Oh bologna," Jay claims with a smile. "If she took notice every time one of us hit the other, she'd never get a damn thing done." Chortling mutely, his shoulders move and wings shiver with it.
"Sam needs you watchin out fer him just as much as you need him watchin' out fer you, Jeb. Don't you think for an instant that that ain't the case, huh? We're brothers. We watch out fer each other. No matter what." Solemn and genuine, Jay brushes past the rest with brush of words.
"Yer right, and when she heard that it's me you hit, she'll probably just say Ah deserved it. She won't be surprised. She'll probably tell you that you should do it one more time just to be sure." Jeb pokes fun at himself, though Jay telling him that Sam needs watching over makes him tilt his head to the side. "Since when has Sam ever needed me? You know that if'n Ah try to give him any advice on his life, he's just gonna sock me right?" He knows Jay's just worried about him more than anything.
"You gonna miss me?" Jeb asks after a moment, quieter. If Sam lives here, why does Jay need to visit. "Ah know you'll just see me at the club and stuff because we work in the same damn place. That was a dumb question. You ain't gonna have any time to."
"I'm serious, Jeb," Jay insists to his younger brother. Not overly ardent, but quite serious anyway. "Sam's got just as many reasons to need someone lookin' out for him than any of us. An' just because he doesn't ask fer advice don't mean that he doesn't need family. C'mon. You know this stuff. An' yer kinda smart and stuff sometimes, Jebediah. You see stuff not everyone always does. Of course Ah'm gonna miss you, so Ah hope that you don't mind me showin' up after work an' crashin on yer couch sometimes, or takin' you out to do brother stuff on the weekends. Ah missed the heck outta you when Ah moved here, none of that's any different. It was really good to not always feel like the odd man out, third wheel hangin' around Kell an' Vic, and Kale an' Max."
"Ah don't think that /he/ thinks he needs any of us. He did come all the way out here first, after all. But if you say so." Jeb picks at a string in his jeans when Jay reassures him that he'll miss him. "Why would you sleep on the couch? That's dumb. Ah'll just kick Sam out of the bed. He probably won't even spend most nights here, Ah'm sure he's got at least four girlfriends he'll be stayin' over with." He leans his shoulder against Jay's own. "Seems silly, but Ah'm just really glad that Ah ain't gotta sleep by myself. Ah'm worried about you. Ah don't know what you're gonna do without me. Ah forgot to make you a little brother elbow to shove in your back when you went to sleep."
"Sam didn't have a choice t'come here, Jeb. He would've blown the whole house apart if he'd stayed. And he does need us. He asked me to move in with him a couple months ago, but I just made everyone move an' Kale would've freaked out. He misses us, too. Don't let all his bluster fool you." Jay smiles vaguely back to Jeb, nudging his shoulder against Jeb when he leans against him, jostling his younger sibling. "Well if yer all worried about me sleepin' good t'night, I'll just stay over, huh?" Jay stands up as the player starts to give off the static of white noise while the needle pulls across the paper center. He walks over and turns it off, lifting up the album and flipping it over tactfully in his hands. "We can listen to the other side tomorrow before work, howsat?" Carefully slipping it back into the sleeve and jacket. "I'm gonna have to get you a proper shelf for these. Gotta take care of yer collection!"
It's a complicated emotion Jeb has, to moving away from Jay again but back with Sam. He knows Jay's not far away now, knows he'll still see the winged jerk every day that he shows up for work, knows that Jay will come around any time he calls him, but it's still an emotion. It still makes him sad that Jay will exist anywhere that he doesn't too. Even if it's just for a couple of days. It just felt like Jay was always supposed to be wherever Jeb is. It had hurt when Sam left. Hurt when Paige left. Hurt when Jay left and even though it's illogical, even though they work in the same damn bar, it still feels like Jay's leaving again, even though this time Jeb did the leaving. So when Jay offers to stay over, Jeb does a real bad job of containing his glee at the idea. "All three of us? You'll stay tonight? Ah'd like that a lot!" He smiles when Jay says he has to take care of his record collection. "You mean yours, the record, the player, it's for you. Just lives with me."
"Well if my stuff is over here, then Ah'm basically livin' here," Jay smiles with an angle, looking a little sly for an instant, he winks and nods. "Yeah, Ah'll fly back to the apartment an' grab a change of clothes or somethin'. It'll be good." Though leaving the building means risking running into two individuals he definitely does not every want to run into, but with a shiver down through his wings, Jay muscles that trepidation and smiles at his younger brother. "Kaleb knows that family always comes first, and this is important. Gotta make sure that no lunatics that only come out at night live nearby, right?"