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Jebediah comes in early to the club to set up, which is not in and of itself a surprise, Jebediah is usually early, he works really hard to get the club in tip top shape before they open. This time though, he's come because he wants to tell Doug and Jay something very important before they open, or important to him, and it's clear the beansprout has something on his mind the way he's practically vibrating with energy as he walks in, it just might explode out of him if he doesn't say it soon. "Hey guys!" He says, a little nervously. "Can Ah tell y'all something?"
Doug has been on the phone all day, yelling at somebody in Japanese. He hangs up, just as Jeb comes in, and rubs his forehead, before he says "I tell you, import laws are a freakin' nightmare." He leans back in his chair, and he says, "What's up?"
Jay has been taking care of opening prep while Doug yells into the phone. Occasionally coming into the broom closet of an office to leave a club soda on Doug's desk within reach and take the empty glass away, or kiss to the top of Doug's curly head. Just checking on 'the boss' between wiping down, stocking up, and generally making good on the never ending list of 'to do' things around the club. He gets that it's stressful, but somewhere in the in between, he kind of likes seeing Doug in action. or so says the quiet smiles and the check ins.
You take care of buisiness, baby.
Jebediah comes in early and Jay juts his chin to his brother. A hand reaching out for a customary drive by high five, he crinkles his brows at the anxiety and follows at a casual lope to the tiny office. "Yeah, of course." Jay folds his arms and leans a shoulder against the doorframe, one foot crossed over the other. "You okay?"
"You sound like, really cool when you yell in another language, Dougie." Jeb says, looking over at his boss/adopted older brother with clear fondness as he leans on the door. He does give Jay that high five, because one never leaves their brother hanging for a high five! Jay's sudden shift to concerned makes Jeb smile sweetly. He shakes his head slightly. "Nothing to be worried about, Ah promise! Ah just wanted to share with you, that Ah think Ah thought of a code name finally, but Ah wanted to tell you guys first, because you could tell me if it's dumb or not then. "
"Oh, well, that's neat. I mean mine's really just kind of a holdover from school, nobody calls me 'Cypher' anymore," Doug says, with a shrug, "And I mean it's not like I'm out there busting crime with my remarkable linguistic abilitiesbut" He looks up, "I can see that this matters to you. So…" Doug raises his eyebrows and leans back, which is human being for 'Let's hear it'.
Jay counters Doug's claim that nobody calls him Cypher with a murmur under his breath, "Outside of the bedroom…" Coughing after, he gives Doug a long look and smile. He's in a good mood today. "What'd ya come up with, Jeb?"
Jeb wrinkles his nose at Jay. "Well, you could take over the world with being a linguist, make all the deals, own the world." Jeb insists at Doug before he takes a deep breath and blows it out, holding up his hands with the pointer fingers and thumbs out, like framing a picture, proving how serious this whole thing is to Jeb. "Alright, so, you guys call me Sprout all the time, right? That's a baby plant, well, I shoot electric plasma out my eyes, and Ah can use it to charge people up, like with Elmo. Well, Ah was thinkin', now don't laugh," He pauses here for dramatic effect, looking at them both while he crouches down. "Power Plant!" He drags out the 'o' and the 'a' like an audience shouting his arrival.
"Because… because Ah make electricity and so do they and then it's still kinda what you guys call me." He explains.
Doug leans back in his chair, and crosses his legs, and then puts his finger over his mouth. "Power Plant." He rolls it around in his mouth, and then says, "…Power Plant. Power-Plant?" The hyphen makes the pronunciation subtly different. Powerplant…" He's seeing how it 'tastes'.
Jay listens to the explanation—which is the important part to /him/. The taste is important, but the meaning to the name is also important to the song writer. His smile brightens slowly, honored that what his /family/ calls him makes an appearance in the name. The delivery is pretty funny, though. Jay shifts on his feet, reaching one hand up to grip the doorframe and hang in the space while he thinks it through. "Power-plant." Looking at his eager little brother, seeing how it fits on him. But there is that nerve wracking quiet consideration. "You know you don't need our approval, raght, Jeb?"
"Ah suppose that Ah don't but Ah want you to think it's cool and you came up with part of it, kinda. Also, Doug is really smart so if he doesn't think it fits, then Ah gotta pick something else and you're my coolest brother and my favorite one with the coolest hero name ever, so your opinion does matter to me." Jeb says pointedly, raising an eyebrow at Jay as if he's going crazy by suggesting that he didn't need their approval as he straightens up. "Do y'all like it?" He looks at them both hopefully. "Ah mean, you both took the cool ones. Cypher??? Icarus!!! So amazing."
"It literally means 'nobody important', Jeb." Doug says, a smirk crossing his face. "It was what you chose for yourself, ergo it's the best possible name." Then he puts his finger over his mouth, and levels a flat stare onto Jeb. "Are you planning on going out and doing vigilante stuff with it?"
Jay fixes Jeb with a look and a half tilt of his head. "C'mon, now. You know Ah got made fun of fer mah name plenty. But Ah stick by it. It feels raght to me," Jay explains, his tone going a little quieter. Not maudlin, but serious as he tries hard to not look in Doug's direction. "If it feels raght to you, then it's right /for/ you."
Green eyes flash to Doug, and back to Jeb as Jay hangs where he is. "Right. It ain't the name itself, but what you do with it after all. So. What you gonna do with it, DaVinci?"
Doug opines, helpfully "I still think you should change your handle to 'Cardinal'. It's red, and it has a pretty song."
"Power-Plant," Jeb corrects at Jay, standing a little taller and squaring his shoulders, trying to make himself bigger. "Well, Ah was thinking maybe Ah would, if Ah was needed, you know. Ah hang out with like… guys that other people wanna hurt all the time, so maybe Ah need a codename just in case. Ah'm working on a design for a hero suit, you know, like a disguise." He smiles over at Jay. "You know 'cardinal' is far less depressin' than Icarus, even if Icarus is real cool."
Doug steeples his fingers, and then says, "I don't really approve. Of the vigilante stuff. But you're a grown man, bean — you'll do what your conscience tells you to do. Just…" He sighs. "Try and look before you leap. Okay?"
Jay smiles serenely to Doug, direct and comfortable. Still, it's flattering. "Ah'll take it under consideration. Cardinal also means…important, or steady. Like a cardinal direction." Jay laughs softly, into a whisper as usual. "Ah dunno if Ah'm there yet. Maybe one day. Icarus feels right fer now. As a reminder."
His attention turns back to Jeb, arching an eyebrow at a disguise. "Yeah? A disguise?"
Jeb frowns at him. "Alright, well Ah won't go out lookin' for it, vigilante stuff, but if it happens to be thrust upon me because someone wants to hurt my friends, then Ah'll be there for them. Or my brothers, or whoever, you know, if Ah'm there, Ah'll do my best to protect people." He promises, crossing his heart, pretending to lock it and then tossing this imaginary key to Doug. "You /are/ important, Jay Guthrie, if you allude to anythin' else again, Ah'll call mama and maybe Ah'll put /you/ over /my/ knee." He puts a hand firmly on Jay's shoulder. "You're very important."
Doug keeps his fingers laced over his mouth, and stays leaning back in his chair, with his legs crossed. "Of course you will, Bean. I have no doubt in my mind." He thinks about this, for awhile, and then says "I used to have adventures. Your brother and I had so many stories. I guess they end, when you grow up."
Jay smiles easily at Jeb, reassuring rather than overly sentimental. A hand clasps and pats his younger brother's. "You don't gotta get all guidance councellor on me, Jeb. Ah'm good right now. Ah see ya didn't give Doug none of the fifth degree when he said his name meant 'nobody important'." Jay winks at the man behind the desk, trying to pass the buck. "Which is a crock of shit, too, Douglas." He pats Jeb's hand and lets him go again, hanging in the doorway casually. "Ah'm happy where Ah'm at right now, Jebediah. And who Ah got here with me."
Jay peers at Doug again, thoughtful. "Who says they gotta end? Sam's always out causing some kinda hell. What's stoppin' you if that's what you love, Doug?". He pauses, looking at Doug for a hard, quiet moment. Really looking at the man. " What do you love, Dougie?"
"Cypher. Noun. A person of no influence; a nonentity." Doug says, getting literal with it, before he quirks his mouth, and says "Well, I'm deeply fond of your brother," He looks up at Jay, and then back at Jeb, and says "And you're just *adorable*, kiddo. But the things that I used to love seem to have moved on to find lives of their own, and they don't have much time for me anymore. But they were my whole life. So… I don't know. I spent a long time looking."
"Well Cypher sounds really cool, even it is a crock of shit, but Doug ain't never listen to me about anythin', and he knows he's important. He's important to me, he's important to you. He's important to the club, he's important to Sam and he's important to all the people he's helped and he's even important to that weird guy that comes 'round and borrows your wings sometimes." He says, firmly at Doug. "Jay ain't moved on nowhere, Doug. And neither have Ah. If Sam is who you mean, he's just a big pain in the ass but he does care about you, he's just too manly man to say it."
A corner of Jay's mouth quirks as Doug gets literal with it. His wings flutter behind him, emanating the urge to go over there and perch on Doug's desk and harass him like a crazy person til he believes him. He's in a good mood. Oh, you. Smartass. "Sam is Sam. Ah got the wings, but he's flightier than Ah am sometimes. He loves bein' awesome, an' savin' the world, an' bein' in risky situations an' /not/ growin' up." Jay speaks with amazed fondness for his older brother, from a place of pride in their Cowboy Brother. "Douglas, this place wouldn't be the same without ya. An' neither would we. So suck on that, Cypher." He winks at Doug, smacking a hand against the doorframe as he pushes off from it, stepping backwards with a carefree amble. "Power plant, huh? Well. There ya go, Sprout. Looks like mah baby brother's got his own codename."
Doug goes silent. Skeptical, as always, for all his ability to read people's intentions. He understands everything but himself — a real Cypher, all the way to the end. "It's not as easy as you guys make it sound. But this is about Jeb, not about me. Jeb, I think it's a good choice. A handle says a lot about the person who gets it, and I think you've picked one with a lot of meaning for you."
Jeb runs his hands together. "Ah really thought about it because of the way that Ah can charge Elmo up, you know, Ah never thought about like workin' with somebody else, Ah've always used it for protectin' myself and my family and well, recently, the art." He says, but moves over to Doug anyway, giving him a big hug. "Yer important to me, very very important."
"Gee, isn't it?" Jay quirks his smile at Doug and enjoys NOT being the one everyone is always getting on. But in a playful sort of way. All sort of underlined when he crams into the office and rummages around fooooor…
"Ah hah," Jay declares victory, pulling the thick ass dictionary out from a burried shelf and drops it on Doug's desk, flipping through and planting a finger to a page. read out loud.
"Power plant. Noun. A plant, including engines, dynamos, etc.dynamo. That's a cool one." Jay asides, then continues. "And the building or buildings necessary for the generation of power, as electric or nuclear power. OR the machinery for supplying power for a particular mechanical process or operation."
"Yep. That about sums it up." Looking pleased while Jeb hugs on his boyfriend.
"Dynamo" Doug says, but then Jeb is hugging him. "Oof. How about 'Dynamo'it rolls off the tongue." But then he lets out a sigh, and returns the hug. "You're a good kid, Bean. Jay and I were thinking about taking you on vacation. Do you even know where the Netherlands are? Well, maybe it'd be a surprise. I figured we'd take Sam, too. You guys don't speak Dutch, but almost everyone there speaks English."
Jebediah smiles real wide when Doug hugs him back, certain that this means Doug accepts that he's very well loved. He pulls back to look at Doug, "Dynamo has to be picked by someone already, plus, then Ah don't got the plant part in there, and that part is important, because you and Jay call me sprout, you even got that pretty cajun guy sayin' it." His eyes light up at the idea of a vacation. "Ah would like to go anywhere with you and Jay, Doug."
"Ah ain't never heard anyone with it, but Ah get why it's important to ya. Dougie calls ya 'Bean', too." Jay taps his finger on the page, then flips through it again. He starts to read, casually. "Noun. An electric generator, especially for direct current. OR an energetic, hardworking, forceful person." Jay smiles at the page, his eyes turning to green crescents of amusement. "Mmm. Netherlands. Yeah. Was Doug's idea. Ah thought it might be, uh…fun." His wings stretch slowly, then he turns pages again.
Doug steeples his fingers over his mouth, pointedly withholding exactly where they planned to take Jeb in Amsterdam. Because that's the sort of thing that makes a barely-a-man freak out.
"Well, yeah, a bean is still a plant, so Ah need the plant part." Jeb insists excitedly, looking down at the dictionary too. "Ah would like to go to a new country, that would be really neat! We never been out of the country before, Jay. Unless you been with Lettuce already, he probably like, owns his own jet, right?"
Jay smiles while he flips through the book and stops again, running his finger down the page and reading, to himself this time. His expression shifts, brows coming together slowly with a look of dismay. Looking up swiftly, the red head blinks and shuts the book with a heavy thud and shrugs. "Kale an' Ah went on a boat once, but we weren't on another country or nothin'. But, Ah, uh, did go on a mission once." He shrugs, not going into it. "But this would be fun."