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JP called the boys together. For any one paying attention, yes Jean-Pierre really liked having people around. It's a natural thing to have people climbing across you just to move through the room right? He's had a weird life. Here in the Big Apple? So much space and he went about filling it the way he knew best: Food and music. Elmo hooked them up with a refurb stereo cabinet and a milk crate of Zydeco albums and other fun things that was smartly not on the same wall as that boss workbench. The kitchen seemed to fill the room with a parade of smells and flavours. Four chairs that did not match sat around a folding card table. Hey it wasn't decorative but it was super functional, just like them! A couple of deeper dishes were set out, thought he saucepan went right on a trivet. Going back he got a fire extinguisher and set that near the table. Turning to Elmo he just patted him on the shoulder.
Vitale missed the days of family dinners. They had always been rare in his house, even when he was younger, but he had always liked them, even if there was a lot of cussing when someone was asked to pass the risotto, including the person asking to have it passed to them, there was something homey about sitting down to a meal together. So, Vitale doesn't mind at all being over at the garage for dinner, doesn't mind at all being over at the garage in general, for anyone paying attention, Vitale preferred to be here than anywhere else. It was where Severin was, where JP was, where Elmo was. This is where he felt like he belonged. But you can't show up without food of your own right? So he arrives with his mother's cannolis, because they are the only good cannolis.
Elmo, loitering around and occasionally helping JP as requested, gives him a dirty look. "Me? Settin' the place on fire with them chilis, that's what you oughta worry about." He's got some little bit of tech in hand and he's tweaking it alternately with a delicate eyeglass screwdriver and a pair of jewelry pliers.
Severin lays sprawled out on a windowsill, in cat form, tail swaying idly, curling at the tip and then swishing back again. He's been dozing for a while now, and occasionally cracks an eye open to look around and see what's up. When he sees Vitale, he hops down from the sill and pads his way over toward him to rub against his leg in greeting.
JP looked to Elmo and arched an eyebrow, "We goin there already? An' here I didn' even put beef in it cause a your eatin things." And there goes JP mixing up dietary restrictions between religions again. He was trying. Oy, was he very trying. "Vitale, tell you' maman we said merci. How she doin?" He finished bringing that over and made a vague gesture to Vitale to just sit as he put the canolis in the fridge for now to join them at the table.
"Hey baby," Vitale says when Severin rubs up against his leg. He keeps the plate balanced on one hand as he bends to scratch Severin behind the ears and under his chin, before he picks him up entirely, transferring his cat boyfriend to his shoulders as he walks over to greet the rest of his team. "My mama alright, she met Elmo the other day, fussed all about how he's not getting fed right. Said to bring these over just for him. I think she wants to adopt him." He says as the cannolis are transferred to the fridge, winking at Elmo. "Sure smells fantastic in here, JP."
Elmo groans. "JP, that's Hindus. Jews don't eat pork. You Catholics, oy vey. Look, it don't matter, I'm gonna eat your cooking either way." He knows better than to expect JP to cook kosher. He shakes his head over that, and grins a little, embarrassed, over Vitale's mom. "Yeah, she and every other ma in New York don't think I'm gettin' fed right." He's really focused, though, on his little project, and doesn't look up.
Severin hops right up onto Vitale's shoulder as he's scooped up and becomes a wearable cat, allowing Vitale to carry him around, sniffing at his ear and giving it a nip of sharp teeth before settling comfortably. His tail curls lightly around Vitale's shoulder, apparently more than comfortable right where he is.
JP has been trying to at least learn recipes even if he didn't have 87 cooking plates. Admonished he just blinked at Elmo and resolved, "Well if there's any left over invite em. They can eat it." Problem solved. He gestured for people to sit, "We'll say grace real quick cause it' polite an shit, an' angels know where we live an' I don' need Michael and Lucien comin all the way out here to kick our ass. They been pretty cool." Considerate.
"God, thanks for not lettin us get shot or blowed up last night when we raided that factory. Tha' was super groovy a'you. And thank you for this meal, an' this team, and the black market havin some pretty reasonable fences aroun' here. We appreciate that they respect the values of good customer service an' thought you'd be a lil proud of em for keepin t'quality. Thank you for non-friction bearings too. Those came in handy. Amen." Looking to Vitale and chat-Sev JP gestured with his fork, "So we found somethin neat."
Vitale smiles when Sev nips his ear, pausing to ruffle Elmo's hair for the express purpose of pissing him off, as Vitale does before he sits down at the table with cat Severin on his shoulder, reaching up to continue to rub beneath his chin as JP gives that prayer, making V smile and shake his bowed head a little. When he looks up and starts to make a plate, he pushes it slightly to the side, gesturing that Sev can steal from it. "You did? What kind of neat? Kaboom kind?"
"Amen," Elmo echoes in a mutter. He doesn't get anything to eat right away, proving why every mom and auntie in the Lower East Side frets over him. He's busy, okay, there's this extremely important bit of gadgetry he is working on. "Kaboom kind," he confirms. "Found some alien salvage when we broke into a factory. One of 'em's a massive power source, size of a Coke bottle." He sounds so satisfied with it.
Severin yawns lazily as Vitale continues to scritch him and pushes the plate within range. For the time being he seems content to doze on Vitale's shoulder and just listening to the conversation going on around him.
JP filled up a bowl and even filled up one for Severin. He did help prep things, he got a cut even if he wasn't eating right now. That rascal grin was back as he idly tongued an eyetooth and looked to Elmo amused beyond measure and let him explain just nodding. Finally he added, "Weeeee mighta accidentally blew an entire bay door into the middle a' the drive. Scared the hell outta us and the fellas in the yard."
"The kaboom kind huh? Alien?" Vitale continues to pet Severin, it's almost second nature, to be petting Severin all the time. "Mighta means you did, JP." Vitale teases with a shake of his head. "So you broke into a factory and there was alien stuff there? What were you looking for originally? Or is this just you and Sparkplug's usual bonding weekend activity? Break in somewhere, see who can steal the cooler thing?"
"JP promised he'd take me out more often." Elmo finally looks up in order to return JP's glance. He smiles at him, lopsided, wicked. "So, in other words, yes. It wasn't what we were lookin' for, but—" He shrugs. What are they gonna do, not steal bits of Kree tech lying around?
Severin purrs contentedly and seems pretty happy just being pet and scritched while he listens to the conversation, occasionally glancing over at Elmo or JP for a moment when they speak but he seems unconcerned about the kaboomyness of it all, since everyone seems to have come out of it with all of their limbs intact.
JP looked too entirely smug. But if he didn't look like a self-satisfied 6' pile of happy trouble he'd not be doing his job of being a Bonaventure. "Ah' doooo love a fun date night. I was doin…things and caught wind these guys was lookin for a couple hands f'hire. So I took a look an it looked interestin so I grabbed Elmo t'go check it out." He glanced back over to Elmo nudging his nee with his own, "Aren't you glad you answered you' innercom now?" a.k.a. throwing things at Elmo's window until it's answered or breaks.
"Sounds like right up your alley as far as romancin' goes. I did ask Severin to come over to my brother's place and steal my wallet on our first date. Bonaventure dates always come with stealing stuff, don't they?" Vitale teases, turning his head to give Cat Severin's fluffy cheek a kiss. "I wish you'd be more careful before you just go grabbing alien tech. It's really, really horrifyin' when I heal an entire arm gettin' blown off." He chastises, because he wouldn't be Vitale if he wasn't chastising JP or Sev or Elmo at some point during their meetings.
Elmo waves Vitale's concern off, amused. "Feh, you worry too much, Ma. We're experts in grabbin' stuff that oughtn't get grabbed." He's seen Severin looking him over and he puts his toy down to spread his hands, demonstrating he still has all his original parts. "Some of it's real dangerous, so it's better we got it than whoever they was gonna sell it to, right?" Although the question sounds rhetorical, he looks at JP when he says it, as if for confirmation.
Severin reaches down off of Vitale's shoulder with one paw to snag some food out of the bowl and eats it, neatly, surprisingly so, not even dripping on Vitale's shirt. The cat licks his whiskers in Elmo's general direction, apparently approving of his having retained his digits.
JP nodded back to Elmo with a small, but resolute nod, "Oh totally. At least we know exactly how we' gon' be untrustworthy with it which is better than the irresponsible you don' know." Thief's Wisdom. You heard it here first, folks. "V' right though. Good think that giant lollypop aimed away. So, we got some a' the stuff and we're tryin t'see what it do. Also Elmo's tryin t' figure out what's all usable from it an' tryin not to get too stones licking the giant battery."
"I'm going to go right ahead and outlaw anyone, Jean-Pierre Marius Bonaventure, from licking the giant alien battery, alright?" Vitale says sternly, pointing his fork at the man who just got full named. "Keep your tongue in your mouth, or someone else's, I don't care, but don't lick the battery." Severin off of his shoulder gets a long stroke along his back.
"I'm not licking it," Elmo says, hedging, like he might be doing something else inadvisable to the alien battery. "Just, yannow. Feeling it up a little?" He hikes his eyebrows at Vitale, grinning like Vitale can't possibly complain about that.
JP boggled so confused. Mouth half full of gumbo he blinked "mruff mm ah mrrnnurf ooboo?!*"
*Translation: How some I'm always in trouble?!
When Elmo copped to being the guilty party JP jut pointed. That! That in the chair with the electronic doodad. That was your culprit, pizanne! "Yeah shakin the damn lollipop thing tryin t'find out if it has mechanical parts and blowin a chunk of the wall out? That you can yell at me for. Also? It do. It do."
"JP, I can yell at you for whatever I want, someone has to keep you the hell in line, because lord knows Elmo only encourages you." Vitale says seriously, while still petting his boyfriend who is currently a cat eating off of his plate. "And you, Elmo Rosencrantz, if you blow your fingers off, I'm going to give you a serious lecture before I grow them back." Still chastising like a mother hen, he's practically clucking. "Though, unlimited power would be nice for the garage, no electricity bills to pay then."
Elmo starts snickering, which ends up with him laughing as Vitale scolds him and JP soundly. "Yeah, yeah, okay, and I'll deserve it for bein' such a klutz. You shoulda seen those doors get blown off the tracks though, V. That was spectacular!" Now, finally, sufficiently distracted from his project, he serves himself some food. "When I figure out how that works, I'm gonna install it in something we can control better."