ArchivedLogs:Teenagers

Teenagers
Dramatis Personae Micah, Shane, Sebastian, Ducky, Daiki
In Absentia	22 September 2013 Sunday breakfast at Teenhaus
Location <NYC> 305 {Teenhaus} - Village Lofts - East Village
This apartment is 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 small living room. 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. Another bathroom stands just into the hall and the farthest door leads to the apartment's final bedroom. Furnishings are more in line with broke students than established adults. Cast-off couches and chairs provide places to sit, and the walls have been decorated in a frequently-changed street art style that combines bright, layered colors with exaggerated proportions and abstract shapes. It is early! Well, early for a Sunday morning, that is. Jax is off at church and Micah apparently occupied himself with grocery shopping and sneaking into the twins' appartment in the meantime, because a few canvas totes now sit empty on the counter, their contents spread over the counter and stove tops. Most of the large frying pans in the kitchen are now filled, with frying bacon and sizzling sausage (of both patty and link varieties) in two and a massive quantity of scrambled eggs firming up into sunny yellow fluff in another. Micah is dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black, bleach speckled xkcd T-shirt on which a stick figure is declaring 'Stand Back, I'm Going to Try Science!' Which might not be the most reassuring of statements for a person standing in front of cooking food, but at least it /smells/ like delicious breakfasts in progress! The smell of frying foods summons a sleepy-eyed teenager out of the bedroom. Shane doesn't come from the room he shares with Bastian, but from Daiki's room, the farthest down the hall. He is shirtless, black pajama pants hanging low on his hips and trailing down on the floor where they hang floppily over his feet. There are still bruises in places on his torso but they have faded almost to nothing; on his side and on the back of his shoulder the gashes that were there have dwindled to slim paler lines against his skin. His first stop is the bathroom, slipping inside. The shower turns on. It's only once Shane is in the bathroom that a second tiny blue shark emerges, this time from their actual bedroom. Dressed identically -- too-long black pants, no shirt -- Sebastian has little to distinguish him from his brother save for a noticeable lack of any injury, having skipped their Friday night fighting in favor of a late night at Stark. Bastian's skin is still wet from the wading pool the twins have in place of a bed, and therefore it is a slightly /damp/ hug that Micah gets when Bastian creeps over behind him. His face bonks up against Micah's back, arms wrapping around the older man. "What kind of science makes the best eggs?" This is a first for Ducky, since she enrolled at Xavier's - she is off campus for an extended period of time for a non-school related activity. She's spent the last two nights crashing in the guest room at Jax and Micah's appartment next door, doing her best to stay out of the way while there. The promise of breakfast has her in the other appartment, having followed Micah over with the offer of help, as best she can, anyway. At current, the young woman is trying to help prep for breakfast in a way that doesn't involve knives or hot surfaces, preparing toast and stacking it neatly on a plate. She's still wearing a pair of dark gray pajama pants, with a faded yellow hooded sweatshirt hanging off her torso; her shoulders are conspicuously without birds of any kind for once, although there has been an increase in avian activity out on the fire escapes. The toaster pops as the actual residents of the apartment start stirring, making Ducky jump in surprise, perhaps more than just a little nervous about screwing up something in her classmates' apartment. Micah turns the heat down under the eggs before sliding the last panful of bacon from its pan to a paper towel-covered serving plate. That leaves two plates piled with bacon mountains and another one each slowly filling with the different types of cooked sausages. “That's the runnin' debate with eggs, isn't it? Do we blame the outcome on the hen or the chef? So...biology or chemistry, really, dependin' on your vote for that question.” He leans back into 'Bastian's hug rather than really returning it--too many pans still in action! “Got a few more eggs left if anybody really prefers 'em somethin' other than scrambled. Pan was only gonna fit a dozen well, anyhow.” The egg pan gets another little shake, the eggs within prodded by a spatula a few times before they get transferred into a large serving dish. “Ducky's got toast for those as want it, an' there's orange juice and a fruit salad with fresh whipped cream in the fridge so us non-carnivores can feel like we ate somethin' resemblin' a balanced breakfast...” Scoopflopflop. The last sausages find their plates and Micah turns off the last two burners. Sebastian's eyes close, posture drooping inward; he half seems ready to fall back asleep against Micah's back, though when Micah leans back into the hug his posture stays steady. "Mmm," it's a sleepy incoherent hum, his gills fluttering briefly at his sides. "HiDucky." His eyes don't open for this greeting. "How're you?" "Blame the hen if they come out bad. The chef if they're /delicious/." Shane is emerging from the bathroom in short order, not so much showered as just /dampened/ enough to stop his skin from protesting the hours spent out of water. He heads towards the counter between living room and kitchen, climbing up onto one of the high chairs there to slump down against the counter, arms crossed atop it. "Daiki doesn't --" "-- do most meat. He'll eat your whole fruit salad if you let him." Sebastian still isn't moving, just a sleepy /barnacle/ latched on to Micah's back. "Who wouldn't let him?" Shane's teeth flash in a sharp grin. "Yo. Ducky. How's your weekend. Should relax," he adds with a note of amusement as he watches her nervous startlement, "Despite what the news says we don't eat people." "... often. Can you do over-easy?" Sebastian asks hopefully. "Wait I mean no I could do it myself now you're done." "I feel like our house is the /bad/ house." Shane admittedly sounds more amused than guilty. "Like here's where you sneak over to get the illicit meat that's not allowed over there." Ducky dutifully pulls the toast from the toaster and places another two slices in their place, letting the morning greetings go on around her. When she's addressed, she blinks in surprise, but nods, "Morning Sebastian, Morning Shane." She shifts the plate of toast over to be beside the other food items once the last pieces are done, answering sheepishly, "I'm ok, I guess. Kinda, um, tired. I forgot how loud the city can be at night, so it's kinda a change after so many months at school." Shane's statement about the news gets a confused head tilt, "I... I would hope not? I mean, that's not why I'm nervous, really, promise. I'm just... sort of easily startled when I don't have birds around me. Which makes me sound all sorts of crazy, I know." Shane's statement gets a slight giggle, "Illicit meat? That sounds... Bacon can't be bad. Smells too awesome." “Man, hen gets it bad either way, then. I'd almost feel for 'em if most chickens I met in my life weren't such /jerks/,” Micah replies to Shane's suggestion with a giggle. “An', oh, you should see the size of this fruit salad before y'commit anybody t'finishin' the thing. I was indecisive about what t'put in 'cause it /all/ looked good, so... It's kinda /all the fruit/ salad.” He sidles over to the refrigerator, not seeming overly hindered by his new little blue shark appendage. It takes two hands to pull the /enormous/ bowl of rainbow-coloured mixed fruit out and deposit it on the counter in front of Shane. The decently-sized bowl of whipped cream follows. At 'Bastian's request for over-easy eggs, he already has the last half-dozen carton in hand, moving to the pan the bacon had been frying in and turning the heat back on. “Won't take but a minute or two, hon. Pan's still hot. An' can get some use for the bacon grease.” Three eggs meet a quick, clean crack-splat of an end into the pan once the grease is back to the right temperature. “An' there ain't nothin' /bad/ about your apartment.” He pauses to avoid snickering at Ducky's illicit meat commentary before continuing his chatter. “Gotta keep you guys fed on mostly protein, anyhow. Might as well settle a few egg an' dairy an' meat cravings while I'm at it. Besides, I usually end up over at Hive'n Dusk'n Flicker's place with the non-vegan takeout foods. Just ain't really set up for /cookin'/ over there. Spend an hour cleanin' the kitchen before you can get anywhere.” "Oh there is /so much/ bad about our apartment," Shane informs Micah cheerfully, "you should've been over here last night, me and Desi --" "-- should never be allowed near alcohol again," Sebastian says from his perch at Micah's back. "We have an enormous stock of earplugs," Shane offers Ducky, "next time you come down here you can snag some." "You could let some birds in. I don't think we exactly have a lot of furniture that anyone can ruin." Sebastian shrugs, finally pulling upright and away from Micah -- though only to slump right back down against the counter beside him. "If it makes you feel better, I mean." "If you get meat cravings, I'd be glad to help out with those /any/ time." Shane says this totally deadpan, to Micah. Sebastian slumps further, hiding his face against his hands with a groan. Ducky grumbles at the mention of chickens, shrugging slightly, "Yeah... chickens are morons. Also, complete jerks most of the time, though they don't really mean it - they're just that dumb. And egg flavor is based on what they eat, not necessarily the hen's fault. Blame the farmer." She nods at the offer of earplugs, "Thank you - I'd appreciate it, actually. Hadn't thought about it - I spent enough nights asleep outside in the city, I thought I'd still be able to, but, yeah." Her gaze tracks towards the nearest window, where several pigeons are lined up staring inside, "Oh, um, really it's just Kushi who I'd have - he's asleep in the other apartment right now, since it seemed like a bad idea to have a bird on my shoulder in the kitchen, and all." Micah quirks a brow at the alcohol reports. “You guys bein' safe with that? Had somebody surpervisin', I hope? An' did Desi sleep here or have Lucien pick her up? Y'have t'take care of your friends, too, if they're gonna be over here when you're drinkin'.” He lets the Responsible Adult questioning end there, moving to flip each of the eggs gently once their whites have started to set. “Y'know, Shane, it can be a serious problem t'eat meat when it's still underdone. Really best policy t'let it finish...cookin'. Before y'do anythin' with it,” he manages to report in an even, instructional tone. To his credit, there is only the vaguest hint of pink shading his cheeks, too! The eggs only need a few moments before he collects another plate and slides them onto it, turning the burner off again. “Okay, that means all the food is ready. Just gotta set up an' chow down.” "Flicker's totally like an adult, right? I mean he's /never/ touched booze." Shane's smile stretches wider, bright and toothy. "-- C'mon, man, sashimi is great. Fish definitely tastes best raw." Sebastian slumps further against his arms, words muffed into them. "Ducky. Can you. Hit him maybe. Just a /little/ hit." Shane just grins more sharply. "The chickens on the farm are kind of awful." Sebastian actually lifts his head for this agreement; his face is flushed darker blue. "-- Ohgosh food thanks." His stomach gives an involuntary rumble has he grabs his plate and heads for the table. "If he's a /clean/ bird it's probably OK. And you talk to him, right, so it's not like he's just going to be. Swooping all over shitting on the eggs." Shane slides off his chair, too, and waves a hand back towards their bedroom. "Desi's still passed out I don't think she's going to want food for a /while/." Ducky tilts her head slightly in confusion at the discussion of alcohol and responsibility, but she keeps any commentary to herself, as it doesn’t concern her. She perks up a bit at the mention of food being just about ready, her stomach grumbling just a little bit at the idea of breakfast. “I… um, no? I don’t… really… hit people,” Ducky sputters at the request of violence, even joking, “Also, seems kinda like a rude thing to do, when I’m kinda invading your apartment for breakfast and all.” She nods about the bird, “Yeah, he’s well behaved, and knows to tell me if he needs to go or anything, so he really does kinda just stay on my shoulder, usually, but, I can get him after breakfast.” She nods and grins, heading for the table, once the others do, “Yeah - chickens are horrible. Most people don’t believe me when I say that, and are kinda horrified when I say I like chicken sandwiches.” Micah loads up his arms with food-laden plates in a manner that suggests he has spent some time in food service in the past. Both plates of bacon settle in one arm, both plates of sausage on the other. “If someone wants t'bring out the eggs'n toast'n fruit, that'd be awesome. Already got the table set.” He flashes a grin at Shane as he totes his plates to the table, lining them up along the middle for ease of people serving onto their own plates. “Think I /might/ just have enough meat around t'keep me busy already,” he retorts, his blush deepening slightly, but still lingering in the paler end of the red spectrum. “Who all wants orange juice?” He scans the room for a tally before heading back toward the refrigerator. “Totally not rude, there is /so much/ hitting that goes on around here I mean, Daiki is pretty much the /most/ polite person I’ve ever met and /he/ hits me all the -- woah,” Shane derails his own train of thought watching Micah carry food, “are you sure you’re not a mutant because that’s a neat trick.” Sebastian returns to the counter to grab the plate of toast in one hand, the fruit bowl in the other. “Oh! Me, please,” he answers about the juice. “Shane, get the eggs.” Shane has been turning towards the table but he turns back at this to get the dish of scrambled eggs. “Oh, I’m not saying Pa’s leaving you /wanting/ over there, just sometimes a little /variety/ in your diet’s a good thing.” Sebastian has apparently now just decided to ignore Shane. He gives Ducky a small smile instead. “... sometimes I like some fish for the same reason,” he admits, “they’re just. Kind of. So terrible when you actually listen to them.” "I can get the orange juice, since you've got your hands full," Ducky offers when Micah asks about it, heading to the fridge to pull the juice out, along with cups for those who indicate they want it. She brings the lot over to the table, and sets them out for people before grabbing a seat herself. A confused head tilt at the mention of hitting, but she shakes her head, about to answer when Shane changes direction of the conversation. There's a curious head tilt at Sebastian's comment, a grin crossing her plain features, "You talk to fish? Neat! And yeah - there are some sort of horrible birds out there. They're great to talk to now, but ask me again come Spring, and I'll tell a different story." “Fortunately--or unfortunately--depending on your viewpoint, I don’t think there’s near so much actual hittin’ as there is /hittin’ on/,” Micah says, shaking his head in exaggerated exasperation. “That’s not so much a mutant trick as it’s the result of /years/ of after-school jobs...the faster y’can get things t’people, the better they tip, usually.” He fetches the bowl of whipped cream and a few of the glasses of orange juice to help Ducky with her carrying. “I did already say that I can go t’the apartment upstairs for that, right?” The headshaking returns, blush still going strong. As he sets a glass next to Shane, he lowers his voice to add, “Besides, kiddo. Y’got plenty of protein in your diet already. What y’don’t have is enough people just lookin’ out for you.” He pats Shane on the shoulder before asking, louder to the room at large, “Y’think Daiki will be out, or should we just save enough fruit salad for him later?” “There’s totally plenty of hitting! But, I mean, he makes me ask for it first.” Shane grins as he sets the eggs down on the table. “... it’s why I stock up on earplugs.” Sebastian’s tone is one of mild vexation, though he wears a small smile when he puts his food down, too. “Daiki’ll be out. I’ll get him.” Shane hesitates at Micah’s quieter words, bright grin fading into a more thoughtful look; he answers the pat on the shoulder with a small bonk of his head against Micah’s arm. “Yeah,” he agrees after this, “I can’t knock that, Dusk is /pretty/ excellent too.” “I talk to fish.” Sebastian’s affirmation of this comes with a distinct grimace. “They’re not, um. Very smart? I’m holding out hope for finding an octopus. But there aren’t exactly cephalopods in our lake and the ocean is /big/.” He turns aside from the table to head across the hall towards Daiki’s room, knocking on the door. “Micah cooked breakfast!” he informs the door. “There’s fruit.” “Why are they worse in spring?” Shane furrows his brow curiously at Ducky. “... think about it,” Sebastian answers from down the hall. A moment later, Shane /snorts/. Apparently Micah’s last comment was enough to get through Ducky’s shell of confused naivete, and the girl actually blushes slightly. Looking down at her plate as though that would hide the faint blush of realization, she just says very quietly, “Oh.” The blush deepens momentarily at the reasoning behind the earplugs, and she makes an attempt to hide it behind a sip of her orange juice, most likely ineffectively hiding it. Finally getting her blush under control, she clears her throat slightly and nods, “Yeah, most birds are sort of not that great conversationalists. Ravens are quite smart, and some of my pigeons are surprisingly bright, but very few have much of substance to say” She grimaces slightly, faint blush now rising to her cheeks again, “Yeah, um, birdsong is lovely to listen to, as long as you don’t hear the actual lyrics. Once you know the words to it, the charm is sort of gone.” “Always comes down t’that with you, Shane,” Micah concludes, head shaking yet /again/ (or perhaps /still/) as he finally takes a seat. “An’, yeah, sometimes it’s nicer not knowin’ exactly what’s bein’ said all the time.” This he says with an air of apology, noticing that Ducky finally caught on to the undercurrent of conversation. At least she is not alone in her blushing! Though Micah no longer bothers to hide his most of the time. He sips at his orange juice before continuing to think aloud. “I’m gonna have t’talk t’Flicker about moderation an’ tolerances an’ all if you’re gonna keep usin’ ‘im as a chaperone, though. Since he doesn’t know well enough from experience. An’ prob’ly have a chat with Lucien about Desi… Shouldn’t be no passin’ out with y’all /or/ your friends.” “I am not sure he /knew/ he was a chaperone, in fairness.” Daiki is emerging from his bedroom, a little bleary-eyed still as he ties his hair back into a low ponytail; he’s also still dressed in pajamas, dark blue flannel with a plain white undershirt. “He came for dinner. Stayed for --” His eyes sweep the apartment with a hint of uncertainty before he finishes mildly, “-- fun. Good morning, Mr. Zedner. Ducky. Thank you for breakfast.” “I’m pretty sure weekends with us are /still/ tamer than weekends she had back at home.” Shane wrinkles up his nose. “-- That’s not a high bar,” Sebastian points out. “He’s getting all /dad/ on us,” Shane replies with an exaggerated /huff/. Daiki’s lips twitch at that as he takes a seat at the table. “Sometimes fathers do that. Have you been enjoying your weekend, Ducky?” He pours himself a glass of orange juice before taking any food. “Horus invited her out for his neverending caffeine quest,” Sebastian explains, his smile brighter here. Ducky makes an attempt to not look startled by the discussion of alcohol and passing out, fidgeting slightly with the cuffs of her sweatshirt instead. She looks up again when she’s addressed, and nods in acknowledgement, “Good morning Daiki. And, um, thank you all for letting me intrude on breakfast,” she adds with a bit of a guilty grin. She nods, “Yeah, it’s been nice. Haven’t actually been off campus since I started, so it’s kinda cool to be back in a city.” Her smile does brighten a bit at Sebastian’s mention of Horus, “And it’s good to get to see Horus again. We’re supposed to be trying to find coffee later, but apparently that might be sorta not the easiest thing. It’s neat to be able to talk to him when I’m on campus, though, which is so awesome.” she bobs her head again, and tilts it slightly to the side, looking at Micah, “Which, um, I guess you helped with, Mr. Zedner?” “Mornin’, Daiki!” Micah chirps with tone and smile both a little too bright to be aimed at someone who is still waking up. “Ach, I’m gettin’ /mistered/ at again. Nobody gets t’complain about fussin’ if I’m gettin’ mistered at. I would like t’note, however, that I didn’t say y’all /couldn’t/ have your parties. Just that y’have t’be responsible about ‘em. ‘Specially if you’re havin’ friends over. An’ I’m not tattlin’ on Desi or anythin’, I’m workin’ out how t’make sure she stays safe when she’s havin’ fun with you guys, okay? This is /Lucien/ I’m talkin’ to, after all.” Micah forms little piles of food on his plate from the various serving dishes, nibbling at a strip of bacon. “You’re not intrudin’, Ducky. We kinda keep an open-door policy on mealtimes around here, an’ you’re Horus’s guest, besides. Might wanna try Montagues for coffee? Melinda an’ Shane an’ all work there, so it’s more likely t’be friendly than a lot of other places. Otherwise, y’might look into shops with outdoor seatin’.” His nose crinkles at the repeat honorific. “Oh, yeah, I did...set ‘im up with his tablet. Sorry if your phone never stops goin’ off now. Though he /did/ get that Twitter account. Texts seem t’be slowin’ up a little since then.” "/So/ not an intrusion, it's pretty much like the dorms around here people just turn up whenever the fuck they please." Shane is cheerful about this assurance, and more cheerful still when Daiki sits down, though at the moment the taller teenager's bubble of personal charisma is muted by sleepiness; it's likely just a genuine warmth. "We love company. Here. I mean, here in general not just this apartment I'm sure you'll still be totally welcome at Pa's after we move back there." Sebastian reaches for the meat to add an enormous helping of bacon and sausage to his plate. "Montagues will be alright. Better when Mel's there," Shane tells Ducky, "but she doesn't work Sundays. You shouldn't go there /first/ though, what kind of quest is it if you get the prize straight off?" "The kind," Daiki suggests quietly, "where Horus doesn't have to deal with being thrown out of a dozen places first?" "Actually he's kind of been having fun." Bastian wrinkles his nose at this. "With the right attitude it's kind of a game." "Like a scavenger hunt of douchebaggery," Shane agrees. "Do you think Lucien will be /mad/?" Sebastian looks abruptly intensely nervous, shooting a worried glance towards the bedroom door. "Would you stop fussing," Daiki asks quite earnestly, "if I called you Micah," though even saying this makes him wince just a little and tack on a softer, "-san," to the end. Ducky grimaces nervously at Micah’s reaction, “Sorry. It’s, um, kinda a hard habit to break, I’ll, um, try not to call you Mr. Zedner.” She winces again, grumbling at her plate as she scoops eggs and a few slices of bacon and toast onto it, “Sorry.” The assurances of not intruding get a grin and a nervous blush, “Still, thank you.” She tilts her head curiously at the idea of a quest, “Well, yeah, it would probably be kinda nice to just find a coffee shop that won’t summarily throw him out. And a bit less fun since I can’t exactly fly - slows down the travel a bit.” Nibbling on a piece of toast, she grins, “Granted, assuming Starbucks has still got a shop on nearly every intersection, pretty sure we’d be able to stop at a bunch of shops along the way, if we wanted that horrible stumbling quest feeling to the day.” There’s a snort at the apology about the phone, “I don’t mind at all. Not like anyone messaged me before, so it’s neat to have someone to talk to. Just, um, have to remember to keep the text alerts off when I’m in classes. Generally not appreciated, I don’t think, if it buzzes midway through a lecture. A lot.” “Oh, yep, totally still welcome t’come by. Not suddenly gonna stop you guys from havin’ guests just ‘cause you aren’t keepin’ your own place anymore,” Micah assures between bites. “An’ I /sincerely/ doubt that Lucien’ll be angry. We just need t’come up with some plans’n guidelines for you guys is all. Nobody’s in trouble, settle down.” This last comes with a pat of ‘Bastian’s hand, though it is a little bit of a stretch to reach it. “Yes, that is infinitely better,” he replies to Daiki with a nod. “Not t’worry, you were just tryin’ t’be polite. I just don’t...do formal so much.” He chuckles at the Starbucks suggestion. “It would keep y’all busy enough just to visit all the Starbucks between here an’ Montagues. Might have more fun hangin’ out in a park or somethin’, though.” “Formal’s nice every once in a while,” Shane answers this cheerfully, “I mean, when you and Pa went to that -- creepyface Osborn shit --” “Oh, those suits were /pretty/,” Sebastian agrees with his eyes lighting. “Though I /think/ he can probably be Micah even /in/ a tux.” “No way. Totally Mr. Zedner in a tux.” Shane shakes his head at this. “Man there’s a /lot/ of Starbuckses between here and SoHo you could mix it up instead and only see if you get kicked out of independent coffeeshops. I bet there’s still plenty for Horus to get chucked out of.” Sebastian’s mouth curls into a smile. “Maybe even one somewhere that’ll serve him.” “Though, then,” Daiki is reaching to put a slice of toast and a /large/ helping of fruit onto his plate, “if you still end up at Montagues in the end he’ll have -- perhaps a lot of caffeine before the day is out.” “Just put your phone on silent,” Shane advises, before loading his own plate up heavily with meat and eggs and falling on the food hungrily. Ducky giggles slightly, “Ok. So maybe attempting to go into /every/ Starbucks between here and Montagues is a bad idea. Don’t think either of us would exactly benefit from that much caffeine, regardless of what kinda point it proves.” She nods emphatically, and shrugs, “Will see. Hopefully we’ll find a place that will serve him. Maybe even more than one.” “Mmn. Those suits were pretty until they were covered in several inches of plaster dust,” Micah returns wryly. “An' if suits always come with misterin', that really ain't givin' me much incentive t'end up in one again.” His nose crinkles at the thought, as if he didn't need much by way of /disincentives/ to begin with. He chews on a bite of toast for a bit before addressing Ducky. “I'm sure Horus'll have more'n enough plans t'keep you two busy. He's a little excitable. If anybody gives y'all too much trouble, y'give me a call, okay?” He scruffs at Shane's hair in a way that suggests he'd be mussing it, were it mussable. That's what he gets for sitting nearest! “Just wanna keep all you goofyface teenagers safe.”