ArchivedLogs:Having Choices

Having Choices
Dramatis Personae Eric, Jackson, Sebastian, Shane, Shelby
In Absentia	2013-05-05 '
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village, <NYC> 303 {Holland} - Village Lofts - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. (Shelby --> Eric): hey u gota min? kinda need 2 tlk 2 a cop all shhh liek (Eric --> Shelby): Just a cop to you, huh? :P (Eric --> Shelby): I just got off duty - where you at? (Shelby --> Eric): if ur on duty yah if ur off ur also a dam fien lay ummm neer teh lofts? u kno tmpkn park? (Eric --> Shelby): lol. Yeah sure be there in fifteen. (Shelby --> Eric): kk c u soon Fifteen minutes later, Shelby is terrorizing the park with her skateboard. It's a pleasant day out, which means busy, but she is keeping people away from the pansy-surrounded bench she's near by...yes, yes, she is actually jumping her board and making it skate over the painted boards. It makes a god awful noise /and/ looks rather dangerous but she's nailing (most) of the landings. Dirty hands and a new hole in the knee of her jeans hints that not all of them have been made and she might have taken a tumble not long ago. After the latest jump, she kicks the board up into her hand and flops down on the bench. Some idle poking at her knee dislodges a bit of sidewalk grit, a trace of blood. This she just wipes off on her tank top. When Eric steps through the opening in the fence and along the path, he grins and rolls his eyes as he spots Shelby. He is wearing a dark brown leather jacket, zipped most of the way up to his throat but showing a slice of navy beneath it. "Hey. You know that skateboarding isn't allowed in the park, don't ya?" he calls out, crossing his arms over to his chest as he walks over to Shelby. His grin widens and he winks, once, glancing over her. As he approaches, his volume reduces to a more normal conversational level. "Especially bad skateboarding." A pause. "What's up?" "What're you gonna do, arrest me? Pat me down?" Yeah, Shelby saves that one until he's close enough to shoot it at him. She glances up, grin faint and crooked. Her knee is hoisted up to show off the scrape--it is unimpressive. "Shouldn't you, like, call me an ambulance instead? What kinda public servant are you?" A crappy one, her tone implies! But it is all in good fun and all to soon she's gesturing him to the bench. And sighing. This is warning sign one. "Um. I was...kinda wondering if maybe you could...do me a favor? I got this friend, see." Eric's smile is smirking and playful. "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure you can think of some way to make me change my mind about ticketing you." he drawls, grinning. "Eh. Looks fine to me." he says, glancing at her knee. He sits down, though, and his expression turns more serious. "What trouble did... your friend get into?" he asks, leaning back against the now-scuffed bench. "Maybe I can pay a fine," Shelby suggests, unable to resist the opening. He makes it too easy! By...being easy. But her heart isn't /quite/ in it. With rumpled brow and a hint of a frown, she flops back as well. "This kid I go to school with, he's like.../always/ getting in trouble. We went down into the sewers to get him last time, dunno if you remember that? That's him. But he's missing again and I was wondering if maybe you'd heard anything? He's a little younger than me, short, super hyper, dark hair and eyes? Likes to go around wearing a mask with goggles." "A mask wearing goggles." Eric frowns and shakes his head. "I haven't heard anything, but... that kid needs to get some help. I warned Jax, you don't want that kid anywhere near you. He's got federal terrorism warrants out for his arrest, on sight. If he's goin' 'round with that mask, he's like get himself arrested or worse." The police officer's eyes scan over Shelby's face, and the sternness in his voice and expression fades, slightly. "Nah, I haven't heard anything. Look, they don't know who he is, so... how long has he been gone? I can call someone back at the station, and we can open up a missing persons case. 'Long as he doesn't say anythin' or have that mask on him, he'll be fine." Shelby's sigh is immense. Bigger than she is! She is worried but she is /also/ exasperated. "I know, believe me. It's not like everyone hasn't told him to knock it the hell off, either. But it's not like him to not text you back, you know? That's all he /does/, even if you just send him like one text. Can't shut him up." The question earns a pause while she counts back silently to herself. "I think...maybe Friday night? Saturday morning? I guess he didn't get home or something." After another, lengthier pause, she adds with a trace of guilt, "I was gonna go see the twins after this. 'Cause. Y'know." Eric nods. "Yeah, that's within the window. If you want t'come back to the station with me, I can put you in touch with a Special Victims Division detective who can help you open up a case." His smile is wry, and he winks at Shelby. "Though, I imagine, goin' 'ta see the twins is a lot more fun than goin' to the station, even if I'm there with ya." He glances down the street, towards the lofts. "I didn't text Shane yet. Was thinkin' about goin' out to the club tonight, but my shift was busy, and I didn't get a chance." "Nah, s'okay. He's got family to do that, y'know? I just wanted to see if maybe you'd heard anything 'cause hey, y'got a cop in your pocket, you gotta /use/ that, man." Worried or no, Shelby is irrepressible. Her grin is back as she glances up at the man. A grin for a wink! "I just wanna make sure they're okay and still there, didn't really think about clubbing. But fuck, dude," she says, aiming a knuckly nudge at his ribcage. "I hope you were gonna ask /me/ too." Eric's grin widens, and he winks at Shelby again, nudging her back with an elbow. "Hell, you, Bastian, me and Shane, we can make our own party. No club required. Just some music." he drawls, glancing up at the lofts again. "I guess we shoul' go check on them." He straightens up and stands, gesturing. "Ladies first, ma'am." "I'm down with that," Shelby affects her gangster mumble. The grin deepens though, and she dodges the elbow while hopping to her feet. The board is tossed at the ground with a clatter. Yes, yes she is going to break an ordinance in front of the off-duty police officer. At least this time she keeps her feet on it and doesn't attempt any jumps. Just a slow roll down the path towards the Lofts. "Maybe should work on the lady thing a little more though." Eric chuckles and he smirks at Shelby. "I dunno. You seemed'ta have it down. Not a proper lady, true, yeah, but a lady." he points out, grinning. He does not seem to mind the skateboarding, with his uniform carefully tucked underneath his jacket. He tugs his phone out of his pocket, thumb swiping over the surface of the phone. "I'll let them know we're comin' - unless you want to surprise them?" Shelby adjusts her balance and simple rolling becomes a jerky zigzagging back and forth. Clack! Clatter! Clickaclicka! Trust Shelby to have mostly noisy hobbies. "I got the right parts anyway," she says with a ruffle of breath, close to snickering. "Better warn 'em though. Someone told me it's /rude/ to show up without lettin' 'em know. Or we could tell them to come to /us/. You got a place yet?" "Yeah, I got a place. It's in Clinton, and I wouldn't go there without me. Ain't exactly a nice buildin', you know? But it's not bad, when you've got a badge and a gun." Eric drawls, a smile tugging at his lips. "Bein' me doesn't hurt neither," he grins, as he types out a message to Shane and sends it. (Eric --> Shane): I found a wild Shelby! Bringing her back to your place now. Shelby flicks him a look that goes from feet to head, her grin shading towards the saucier end of the spectrum. "What, you mean fucking hot? I been out to Clinton. Some serious weirdos out there but I got a friend who lives out there too. Pretty scuzzy building." Then she focuses on her boarding, as the path ahead becomes more clogged with obstacles. Like /children/. Sheesh. --- This apartment is cheerful, in its way -- bright and airy, its floor plan open and a plethora of windows providing it with an abundance of light. The tiny entrance hall opens into a living room, small, though its sparse furniture and lack of clutter give it a more open feel. The decor is subdued and minimalist; black and white is the dominant theme, with occasional splashes of deep crimson to offset the monochrome, though of late bright coloured sealife has made its way into being painted on the wall. The couch and armchair are upholstered in black corduroy, the low wide coffee table central is black wood and glass-topped, and a few large pillowy beanbags provide additional seating by the large windows that dominate the back wall. Towards the back, a couple of doors lead off into bedrooms and bathroom, and to the right, the kitchen's tile is separated from the living room's dark hardwood floors by black countertops. Above the bedroom to one side, there is higher space; a ladder climbs up to a lofted area looking down on the living room. Standing in front of the partition between living and cooking area is a large fish tank: one lone Betta, blood-red, swims regally among several species of black and silver fish. A hallway beyond the kitchen leads further into the apartment. Another bathroom stands just into the hall and the farthest door leads to the apartment's final bedroom, the door usually kept shut to hold in the acrid fumes of turpentine and paints from within. Not long after Eric and Shelby left the park, they are at the front door of 303. Eric is laughing and shaking his head as his knuckles rap against the door. "Well, I don't know about that. You might need a crowbar to pry Bastian away from his homework long enough to drag him, kicking and screaming, to the club." he drawls, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to the door. "I dunno about that. Maybe /last/ weekend, but this one?" Shelby is making with the smugface. She's looking ratty tatty casual, a fresh hole in the knee of her jeans, a smudge of dirt and maybe blood on her simple white tank top. Her board is captured under one arm. She rocks back and forth on sneakered feet as she waits beside Eric at the door. Sebastian is in fact doing his homework. Very diligently, in his room. Shane is not. He's in the living room, flopped out on the floor on his belly with his Nook in his hands. He's also humming, to himself. Obie is lounging against his side, dozing until the knock sounds at the door. The beagle is up in a heartbeat, ears perking first and then his paws skittering across the wood floor to careen towards the door and investigate. Shane doesn't investigate. He just eeeeyes the door like he is sure it will open /itself/. This is because there is a Jackson on his way /out/ the door! He has a kind of harried expression as he peeks outside and it doesn't get any /less/ harried for the company out there. But he does give them a small smile as he shoves his keys into his pocket and toes a shoe on. "Um -- hi! Hello. Shelby!" This is warmer than, "-- Eric," although the officer's greeting certainly isn't /hostile/. Just reserved. "Can I -- oh. You're -- prob'ly lookin' for the boys. "Heya, Jax." Eric says, shining a bright smile at the other man. "Yeah, we are, but we don't mind lookin' at you neither." he says, flicking his eyes up and down the man, teasing in his voice. "Just headin' out?" he asks, tilting his head slightly to one side. He glances into the apartment for a moment, squatting down to pet Obie as he looks up at Jax. "Whoa, Jesus, someone's in a hurry!" Shelby, still not so great with traditional greetings. She /does/ touch Jax's elbow as she slides past Eric--and Obie--to come inside though. Not her usual hello, /almost/ shy, but she will deny it if asked, okay? There is Shane, and... "B around too? He's here, right?" Her tone is just a hint too casual, though the grin she flashes the present twin is allll her. "Bastian's doing homework." Shane doesn't get up. He lifts an arm, gesturing. Come. Hug. This might be for Shelby /or/ Eric, who knows. He'll accept any. Obie is all wriggles and tailthump with his pettings, tongue lolling out of his mouth. "You gonna be long, Pa?" Bastian says nothing. Because he is in his room. Doing homework. "Yes -- no. I mean I'm supposed to be getting Spence and -- then I've got -- oh gosh I'm /always/ late and then sometimes he ends up --" Jackson shakes his head as he puts his other shoe on, flushing deeply at Eric's comment. "I -- was, um, are y'all staying long?" He's eying Eric with this question, with a hint of worry. "-- Kinda? I don't -- an hour or two. I'll bring dinner, though." "I dunno yet. Not sure what my plans are," Eric says, seemingly ignorant of the worry in the other man's expression. "Just gon' see how it goes, I guess." he straightnes up and slips past Jax into the room. He does turn backwards once he's past to check out the other side of Jax, and his smile grows a little bit wider. "Anythin' I can do to help, Jax?" he asks, as he heads in towards Shane. Shelby does not give hugs. She toes her shoes off, leaves the board near the door and pads over to...sit on Shane's butt. What? He was clearly asking for it, lounging on the floor that way. Ride 'em, horsey. "I'd love to stay for dinner, thanks!" This is for Jax, because clearly he was inviting her to stay. She's looking from the man to the /other/ grown man, head tipped curiously to the side. "I can keep an eye on him," is added after a moment, with her very best so innocent expression. "If you want." "You're not fooling anyone, I /told/ him about Friday," Shane says with a slight roll of his eyes. "This is /my/ dad we're talking about you don't have to be coy look," he's switching from Shelby to Jax mid-sentence, "we've totally got like /seventeen million/ condoms so you can stop panicking." So reassuring. His hand still hook-hook-paws for Eric even after he is being used as a perch. "Um --" Jackson is scrubbing a hand against his face, briefly derailed from his hurry by -- facepalming. Right. "Um -- o -- okay, just --" His fingers rake through his hair. He studies the trio in the living room and then scrunches his eye shut. "You stayin' for dinner, too, Eric?" "If you don't mind," Eric says, tugging off his shoes and placing them neatly by the door. "If'n you do, I can fuck off out of your way once dinner starts." he shrugs his shoulders then heads into the apartment to ruffle Shane's hair and sit down next to him. This, apparently, involves almost rolling over onto his back. Sitting is hard, folks. Oh. /Fine/ then. Shelby grins over at Jax. "Seventeen million minus about...I dunno, eight? Nine? I forget. Hey..." The switch from jesting to mostly serious occurs in the blink of an eye. "Be careful out there, huh?" Aaand it doesn't last long. Maintaining her perch on Shane, she turns her head and calls out, "BASTIAN! We're riding Shane, get out here!" Shane curls his arm around Eric, pulling the older man in close to use /him/ as a pillow instead. "Sh-h-h, Bastian's in the /zone/. Homework zone. He gets into this /space/ and the world goes away and s'like pa with painting or being whipped or something. Just. Blissful. I don't know if offering /riding/ me is gonna cut it." "..." is what Jackson says to this. And "..." again. "-- Nrgh." And he vanishes, closing the door and locking it securely behind him. "I dunno. I bet it would, with the right riding." Eric leans in, kissing Shane's cheek and then settling down against the floor so that Shane can put his head on one of his thighs. It is, perhaps, too muscled to be a very good pillow, but it is an object that one can put a head on. "That's boring. I was just saying Shelby would need a crowbar to pry him away to go to the club." His eyes glance at the door, then he adds, "Your Pa has a spectacular ass." "What if I were naked? /What if I were naked, B?/" The second question is pitched at louder volume. Shelby is nothing if not persistent. "Eric also said we should make our own party but I dunno if I can party in front of your dad. That'd be kinda weird." She reaches down and gives Shane's shoulders a companionable squeeze, then dismounts to amble towards the bedroom. "I can't believe I gotta fucking compete with /books/," she is grumbling good-naturedly as she goes. "S'in the pool for hours every day, 'course he does." Shane glances at the door, too, even if he's too late for ogling. "Back, too, he's pretty much got the /best/ -- wait, why not?" He frowns at Shelby. "What's wrong with my dad, he's awesome." He nestles in closer against Eric. Nuzzle. "You're not naked," Bastian answers from the bedroom. He's tucked up at his desk, predictably. Typing rapidly on his laptop, an essay underway. He does glance over his shoulder once Shelby appears, smiling quick and warm. "See? Not naked. -- You haven't seen Peter this weekend, have you?" he asks this casually. "Oh yeah," Shane calls back towards the bedroom without getting up from Ericpillow, "I am /so/ not going in the sewers after him again!" "Sewers?" Eric's nose crinkles and he glances between the three teenagers. "Wait. You went down in the sewers after this guy?" He shakes his head and lets out a long sigh. "I am not going t' the sewers. The DEP guys are the ones who go down there when there needs to' be a search with us. You can get lost down there and not come back up." He pronounces the name of the group as if it was the actor - Depp. "Heya, Bastian." he taps at his thigh, then beacons the teenager over. "Come, sit." "I am not naked," Shelby confirms, "but that could change at /any/ minute." She steps in close behind Bastian's chair and leans over him, hands sliding down his chest and lips aiming a kiss at the curve of his cheek. "Ivan texted Rasa about him, s'why I tracked down Eric. Haven't seen him since classes Friday. C'mon." Without waiting for further responses from him, she straightens up...and grabs the back of his chair to begin steering it out into the living room. Roll roll zoom zoom, no more homework for yoooou! "We went down in the sewers for him when he'd been kidnapped by some monster," Shane affirms. "But, uh, gross, I told him next time don't get kidnapped by things in the sewers." He is nestling closer to Eric, hand hooking around Eric's knee. Sebastian, meanwhile, is /squeaking/ as he's dragged; he reaches for the edge of the desk to grab it but his hands slip off as Shelby steers him away. "Oh my /gosh/ I have /so/ much stuff due Monday you have no /idea/ --" He tucks his legs up onto the chair, though, half-smiling as he zooms. "Anyone could be naked at any minute. You never know. It's always a danger." Shane isn't getting naked right now, though. Just nuzzling. Vaguely sleepily. "Where was he /supposed/ to be?" Eric's hand gently brushes over Shane's hair - brushing /through/ Shane's hair is a difficult procedure - as the teenager nuzzles at his leg. "Don't get kidnapped at all would be a better plan, I think," he comments, dryly. "Priorities, B. You gotta get your priorities straight," Shelby instructs--she may or may not be cribbing from Eric's I'm A Teacher tone of voice--as she steers the chair up to the sitting area. Once she has him there, she eases past and topples onto the couch. On her back, with arms held wide. Hint hint. "You dunno Peter, he's like...seriously, y'know how I was when I was on the streets? He's like that except /worse/," she says in the meantime, glancing over at the other two. "He thinks he's a superhero," Shane explains. His head tips back. He presses a kiss to Eric's palm, and then returns to nuzzling. Sebastian's nose wrinkles. "He might be a superhero some day," he allows, "but meanwhile he just gets into a lot of trouble." Now Shane's nose wrinkles, too. He looks over towards Jax's bedroom. "Superheroes /do/ get into a lot of trouble. "Not failing history is a big priority for me." Bastian curls his arms around his knees, staying perched on his relocated chair. "Yeah, well, he's no superhero right now. He's a fugitive from justice with a warrant out for his arrest in relation to terrorism." Eric says, darkly. "I know it's a bunch of bullshit, but he still needs'ta get it taken care of, before someone gets hurt." A pause, and his smile widens a little bit. "Ouch, Shelby. Got turned down for books. Harsh." Eric comments, eyes twinkling. "That's gotta hurt." "You think maybe the FBI got him?" The thought hadn't occurred to Shelby. She frowns. And then frowns some /more/ when Bastian plays hard to get. Hmph. With a roll of her eyes, she turns onto her side and props her head up in one hand. "So go finish then," she tells the studious twin before immediately sticking her tongue out at Eric. Pthp! "He's a dumbass, but he's not a terrorist," Shane shakes his head, eyes closing. "Uhh he's like fifteen, wouldn't the FBI have to at least let his folks /know/ if they took him?" "Yeah," Sebastian says, arms tightening around his shins. "They'd have to tell his folks. He's probably off heroing somewhere." "... that's not reassuring that's pretty dangerous," Shane says with a frown. "But it hasn't been long, right? I mean who knows he might just be there when you're back at school tomorrow." "I dunno." Eric says, giving a little bit of a shrug. "I didn't hear anythin', but they might not tell us. Only thing the Feds are good at tellin' us is what they want. Not so much anythin' they're actually doing, 'specially if it's a National Security thing." He shakes his head and glances at Sebastian. "Yeah, Bastian's right. His folks would definitely know. Ain't no way they're puttin' the screws to a 15 year old over somethin' like this." "Yeah, I guess not..." Shelby is still frowning, looking thoughtful, but it isn't over the Peter business. Or, at least, it's partly that and partly... "What do you mean when /you're/ back at school tomorrow?" she asks, eyes flicking back and forth between the blue ones. "He's not going back to school." Sebastian answers this for Shane, as Shane just kind of mashes his face more against Eric. "Do you think we /should/ look for him?" Shane's brows are creasing, teeth dragging against his lip. Sebastian shrugs. "Probably." He unfolds his legs, letting his feet drop to the floor. "But I mean where would we even start? It's a big city." Shane shrugs a shoulder, finally un-nestling from Eric's side to get up. "Start in the kitchen I am in dire need of caffeine." Peter totally /might/ be in the coffeemaker. Eric looks down in surprise at Shane, and his eyebrow furrows. His mouth opens, then it shuts. He looks down at the floor, then up at Shane as he wanders to the kitchen. Through all this movement, his face remains that same surprised expression. Finally, he stands up and follows Shane into the kitchen, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around him. "All right." he says, simply, squeezing the younger man in his arms. Shelby is silent. Blinking, at first, and then looking from Shane to Sebastian. When Eric gets up to follow one into the kitchen, she pushes herself up and scootches to the end of the couch to be closer to the other. Like Bastian, she hikes her knees up towards her chest and hugs them there. "...how about you?" "I'm still going," Bastian says, and he doesn't really sound very /comfortable/ about this. "Look," Shane is calling this from the kitchen as he sets the coffee grinder on the counter, "if you really want me there --" "-- no. I mean /yes/, but -- not -- I mean if you --" Sebastian's gills flutter. He just shakes his head, and reaffirms for Shelby: "I'll still be there. Shane's dropping out." Shane shrugs. He has to climb up onto a counter to look into the cabinet he wants. "Oh my god, are we out of coffee. I might /die/." "You /work/ in a coffeeshop how are we out of coffee," Sebastian grumbles. His fingers curl against his knees, plucking at the hem of his skirt. "Some teacher told him he was an animal," he tells Shelby, more under his breath, with a distinct scowl. Under his breath doesn't really /matter/ much with their hearing, though: "She didn't -- /exactly/ --" Shane objects from the kitchen, "I mean she said I was animal... /istic/." Eric's eyes widen - practically bug out. "A teacher told you that you were an animal, and this is at /your/ school?" he says. He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "Well, shit. Sounds like they need'ta rethink their hirin' process if there's teachers who think that. I mean..." he trails off and shakes his head. "That's dumb as shit." Eric falls silent for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Your Pa must have hit the roof when he heard 'bout that." he says, looking at Shane. "That the teacher said that, I mean. Though I 'magine he ain't too happy 'bout you droppin' out neither." "Jesus Christ." That about sums up Shelby's opinion. Dismay, disgust and hidden beneath both, a glint of relief that one of them is at least remaining. "Lemme guess, it was Walters? The one who squirted me for swearing?" A /wild/ guess but the one she dislikes most, so a natural pick. "Yes," Sebastian says, through his teeth, his claws slowly extending. Shane hisses out a breath through his teeth, too, though this is perhaps at their current coffee situation. He turns around, dropping to sit on the counter instead. He leans forward towards Eric, and though /he/ is a lot less tense-clawy than Sebastian, his voice quiet, he's clearly not really -- /happy/, gills fluttering slowly and his hands gripping the counter's edge hard. But he just shrugs. "I mean, she was right," he says, slowly. "I'm childish and immature and still living in a cage and a hypocrite and need to get over myself because where I came from," he informs them, "wasn't all that bad compared to what she's seen." Sebastian's claws just continue to extend, though this. Shane shrugs again. "-- But it did kinda make me realize that I don't, um. Really /belong/ there. I think that school's for -- people. People who can learn to /be/ people. I mean, people who can learn to be people in the /world/ but, mmm. No matter how much they teach me to everyone else I'm still pretty much going to be an animal, you know? I can't blend in and I've never," he says wryly, shooting a look towards his brother, "even been all that good at trying." Eric's hands gently run down Shane's sides, soothing over his gills in a slow, repeating pattern. "I don't think someone who is childish and immature would make this kinda decision." He says, softly. "For the reasons you're makin' it, anyway. And it ain't her place to shit on ya, just since she's seen worse. I've seen some pretty bad stuff, but that don't mean no one ain't allowed to feel bad because they ain't seen as much. And lots of people been through worse, too, and still, don't give them no right." Eric leans forward, wrapping his arms around the younger man and squeezing him tightly in his arms. "You ain't no more animal than me, inside. People might treat you different, but that don't make you so." His arms tighten even further, and he presses a light set of kisses to the back of Shane's head. "Still, school ain't right for me neither. I didn't get a college degree, though I know my ma would'a like me to." In spite of the claws, Shelby unfolds and inches towards Sebastian so she can slip her hand under his. It's a tricky maneuver, his knees being right there, but she tries to take care of her knuckles. "Comes to that, maybe /I/ shouldn't be there, sounds pretty much like me too," she says quietly, of the remarks coming from the kitchen. Then she focuses on Bastian alone when Eric's murmuring is heard, directed at Shane. Not with talking but with a light tug that invites him to the couch with her. "I'm pretty sure she's one hundred percent full of shit anyway." Sebastian's claws prickle down against Shelby's hand, light but scratchy-irritating. "She doesn't have any /idea/ what you've been through so I don't know where she gets off pretending she does. I," he says, quite seriously, "would like to stick her in one of those cages and hear what idiocy she starts spewing after she's had every one of her teeth pliered out just to see what would /happen/." His gills are fluttering quickly. His claws start to retract, though, as he looks down at Shelby. "You can hide," Shane says simply, no weight to this statement past plain fact. "I mean, if you decided you /wanted/ to do something with a diploma after high school, you /could/. You don't gotta but you have the choice. It's -- pretty much an exercise in pointless for me, there is exactly no employer who'll look at my GPA and not my /gills/. Washing dishes where nobody can see me, at least," he says with a thin slice of smile, "nobody cares about /either/." His eyes close, forehead resting up against Eric's chest. Sebastian's teeth are still clenched. He slips off the rolling chair, moving over to the couch to tuck himself next to Shelby. "I still want you there," he admits, and it's quiet but Shane at least can certainly still hear it. "But I get it if you don't want to -- I mean. /I/ keep hoping maybe the world'll just be /better/ eventually but it's -- kind of -- stupid." Gills still fluttering, he tips his head slightly to rest against Shelby's shoulder. "... do you want to be there?" This time, it's to her. "I'd stay," Shane says, and he sounds pretty serious, too. "I mean, if I -- she's a fucking /bitch/ and shouldn't be anywhere /near/ the school I mean can you imagine if she talked her bullshit to /Daiki/ or someone? It'd be kind of horrific. But. She's just one dumbass teacher. There's good ones. And they -- and you -- I mean, there's a lot you could do after high school, you know? And it's better to --" He swallows, and now his arms lift to curl around Eric. His forehead still mashes up against Eric's torso. "-- to have the choice." Eric tightens his arms around the twin as he speaks, nuzzling gently at his hair. "Yes, I can. I /do/, hide. Every day, at work." he says, softly. One hand, wrapped fully around Shane, begins tracing the gills underneath his shirt idly. "The world ain't a very nice place, sometimes. Lots of times, actually." he adds, and shrugs his shoulders. "Big question in my mind is... bein' at that school. Does it help you mor'n' it hurts?" There is an awkward pause as Eric shuffles thoughts around in his mind. "What I mean is... now, today, tomorrow, does it help or does it hurt? How 'bout a year from now, or two? Or ten? I mean, you can wash dishes either way, so's far as that goes, it don't matter. But if you want to do somethin' else - don't matter what - is there somethin' you might want to do where the diploma would get you where a GED won't?" Shelby waits until Bastian is beside her, then curls her arm around his shoulders and lifts her hand to stroke light fingertips over his gills. Her other stays clasped in his, heedless of any needle-pricks she might have picked up from his claws. "For now, I guess. Can't say it's doing much for me either," she admits, "but it's only been like a month or two. Took me at least a year on the streets before I stopped feeling like a dumbass." "I don't -- I don't know," Shane admits, slowly relaxing into Eric, "I -- these days --" His eyes close. "{I don't remember what not hurting is like.}" This is unhelpfully in Vietnamese, and under Eric's hands his gills flutter again. He squeezes Eric tighter, hard enough to bruise even if -- on Eric, only for a second. And then he lets go with a quick-sharp flash of grin that does not touch the kind of watery look in his eyes. "I need some fucking caffeine," he says, sliding down off the counter and ambling back to the living room to bap Bastian on the shoulder. "We're getting caffeine. Y'all want something?" Sebastian's eyes close, and he's relaxing, too, at this stroking. His hand squeezes Shelby's gently. "You're not a dumbass. School's just --" He shrugs. "-- more for other people sometimes, you know? There's a lot of kinds of smart but some people just care about that paper. And --" He shrugs, tipping his head up to look at Shane. "Always kind of better to have more options instead of less." He looks at Shane a long moment. His hand lifts Shelby's, and he presses a kiss to her knuckles. "Yeah. Mmm --" He's studying Shane's face again, for a moment, before he uncurls from the couch slowly. "We only taking caffeine-related requests?" Shane shrugs. "I dunno. Whatever-related. But I'm not going anywhere /fancy/." "Bring back some beans. I could use a cup of coffee." Eric says, giving Shane a warm smile from where he stands in the kitchen. He doesn't immediately leave the kitchen, instead staring into the room over the countertop. "Other'n'that, I'm alright." he says, and his eyes are affectionate. "You need some cash for it?" he asks, patting his pockets down in search of his wallet. Shelby's hand closes hard(er) on Bastian's after that kiss lands. Then she lets go and swivels on the couch to stretch out, arms behind her head. "You didn't know me then," she comments, completely unable to not go for the last word in a debate. But she moves on quickly enough. "Maybe some chocolate? S'good for cheering you up." She does /not/ offer money, however. Her job here is to lounge and watch the twins through lashes lowered to a thoughtful half-mast. "Nope. Maybe you were a dumbass then," Bastian agrees with a crooked smile. "But I said now." He stretches up a hand to patpatpat Shane on the cheek, and then stands. Shane is trailing back to the kitchen but not for money; he stays Eric's hand with his, instead just stretching upupup onto his toes to kiss the older man, kind of /hard/-fierce. "Nah. Keep your cash, I just got paid. Chocolate and beans. We got it." Sebastian slips over to Shane, hooking a hand through his brother's arm. His other, absently. moves to run fingertips down the gills at the side of Shane's neck. "-- I really need to get on that /job/ thing," he says with a wrinkle of his nose, but then tugs Shane off towards the door. "We'll just be a few. If you need um --" "Pfft, dude, they're not going to starve to death in fifteen minutes jeez Pa is rubbing off on you." Shane's tugging on his shoes, holding the door for Bastian. "'sides, if they do starve they can eat Obie." Obie perks at the sound of his name. Pantpant. Tailwag. "See ya' soon, Shane. Bastian." Eric says, raising his hand in a little salute. His smile fades, slightly, after the two twins have gone through the door. He immediately rounds around the counter and heads back into the living room. "Well. Guess you and I'll be seein' our twins at different times a lot more, now." he says, plopping down onto the couch. "Be careful out there," Shelby bids them both. She hoists her legs up before Eric collapses, then sets her feet down in his lap. Muscleponypillow. "We'll be fine. If you come back and hear weird noises in your room, c'mon in," she adds, plastering on her very best grin. It doesn't quite reach her eyes, but... "Yeah. Yeah, guess so. Thank fuck for weekends, huh?" "Tch, we're always careful," Shane answers with a quick flash of smile that -- admittedly, also doesn't reach his kind of glisteny eyes. And then they are gone, switching quietly back into Vietnamese as the door closes and locks behind them. "Thank fuck for weekends." Eric repeats, grinning down at her. "Can't go too long without the next biolorgy." He lets his head fall back against the couch. "Don't suppose you wan'ta go make some weird noises, eh?" ".../dude/." Shelby affects shock and offense. "At least let them get to the elevator first, so we can pretend we're doing something /bad/." Eric chuckles and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Very important business: there's Temple Run to play.