- RETROMIX + HEATMETAL

[camarod]

Comments

[camarod]

I don't know, man. I hate small talk and awkward silences, so I guess I'd rather we didn't do that if we ever meet buying groceries or whatever.

[Being dead again would be easier than this - ] Just eat the pizza man. It's the good shit.

[Beer isn't enough: he needs to be so high he's unconscious.

He breathes out, runs a hand through his curls and sighs, leaning forward to open the box. He grabs a slice, takes the first bite because sure, if he were Steve maybe he'd suspect he'd fucked with it. Maybe. ]

[retromix]

[ It would probably be a little obvious if he went to grab his phone and message Munson about this. Staring for a moment longer, he takes a piece of pizza and chews it in silence. Sips his beer.

And when he can't stand it any longer, ]

Dude, are you lonely or something? I know this dimension is freaking weird, do you want some company?

[camarod]

Jesus fuck. [This is mortifying. He's not sure what he envisioned here; some fantasy scenario that ended with them laughing, shoulder to shoulder? Like friends? Not being called out within the first ten minutes, that's for sure. ]

No, you asshat, I'm not lonely. [He has Tinder, okay. ] I can like you enough to bring you pizza without being desperate, Harrington, god. Give yourself some credit.

[retromix]

[ Billy likes Steve? Since when? Hargrove exists to be aggravating, he made it his signature move in life. ]

I didn't mean it like that, goddamn it. I meant lonely for friends.

[camarod]

Sure. I'm really circling the drain looking for amigos.

[he has friends Steve - ] - Sorry. I have friends, but we're like. I don't know - it doesn't feel real, right? You feel grounding. Like reality.

[Eddie too, he guesses. Definitely Max, but there's no way he's becoming besties with his kid sister.] This way too deep for pizza, fuck me.

[retromix]

That's the first thing you've said that doesn't sound unhinged.

[ You feel grounding. Eddie's been thriving but he said something similar and Steve doesn't like to leave the guy alone for too many days at a time in case he gets in his own head again about being batfood. Maybe Billy's having a similar crisis about being shish-kabob.

Damn, Steve really is babysitting a bunch of dead guys now, isn't he?

Steve gestures to him with his beer. ]

So, what have you been doing for the past three weeks?

[camarod]

Working, mostly. Keeps my head busy.

[Manuel labour is familiar, at least. Sometimes he pulls a shift at the public pool on the weekend if he isn't exhausted. The other other job is why his Tinder is busy. All great distractions. ]

Kinda messed up that I got brought back to life just so the ladies can watch me haul bricks on the construction site, but I guess someone's gotta do it.

[retromix]

That's one way to spend your time.

[ Weirdly a comfort that Billy has been, predictably, being Billy-like even if he is a bit upset and guarded. ]

Did you discover you had any superpowers once you got here?

[camarod]

Yeah. [He pauses, fights the urge to grind his teeth a little. ] You too? And Munson?

[It doesn't sound petty, at least. He is curious about the powers thing, even if he has been obtuse and quiet about it, even outside of Steve. He's not sure he wants to talk about it, let alone use it. ]

[retromix]

He's got a bunch of stuff going on.

[ Not specifying what exactly that is, powers or not. He's dismissive of Eddie to keep him out of the spotlight. ]

What can you do?

[camarod]

I don't really wanna talk about it, [he says, and he's surprised by how measured he sounds. How cordial. He reaches for another slice, after finally opening a beer himself. He takes a long sip.

Somewhere in all that, his forehead has moved into a frown. ] Anyway, what did you get?

[retromix]

[ Sure, let Steve offer up all his secrets in exchange for nothing, urgh. Rolling his eyes, he transfers his beer to his left hand and looks at his right. It doesn't actually matter what Steve can do, he thinks, because he can only do it in this dimension and it will probably vanish when he leaves. It's not exactly a government secret (like El). ]

Munson called it empathic summoning, but it doesn't always work right.

[camarod]

In English?

[Just a lot of words he knows individually but together he has no context, and also Munson again. This is unfortunately going to be a thing, he realises. Anyway - ]

[retromix]

I can summon an item immediately necessary in a situation, sometimes I get to choose and sometimes not.

[ It's shitty, ninety-percent of the time. Unless a life is in peril, Steve can't exactly control the items that appear. ]

[camarod]

Huh. Not at all fucked up. Kind of disappointed.

[Immediately necessary, but he doesn't choose - god, that sounds just as contrary as Steve is sometimes. It's perfect actually. ]

Show me, then. I wanna see what is immediately necessary right now.

[Literally a muzzle for Billy. ]

[retromix]

I don't think you want me to do that. [ Taking a swig of his beer, he wipes off his mouth with a wrist and shakes his head. ] That's where the empath bit comes in, it's not always what I need.

[ Pointedly raising his brows. ]

[camarod]

The worst that can happen? You summon my car onto your bed?

[God he wishes - but less conspicuous is his St. Christopher, which is missing. Buried with him, he hopes. Or with his mom. ]

Come on. Summon dirty fries, that's a necessity.

[retromix]

[ Steve mutters Fine, fine, setting his drink down. He really hopes a car doesn't appear ... and he has a feeling it won't. Steve holds out his hand and says dismally, ]

Axe.

[ An axe does not appear, which is unsurprising, but there's a sharp hiss and something pops into existence in his hand as he winces, the sharp scent of ozone in the space around them. He brings the object in to have a look, confusion marring his brow. ]

It's a photo of a woman. Do you know her?

[ It's a pretty woman in a white dress on a beach. ]

[camarod]

[Axe - and he's almost laughing at the idea that either of would need an axe, because really, murder is so much goddamn effort. The display though is mesmerising for the short time it lasts. Then there's the photo, and he knows before Steve turns it around, exactly who it's of.

He reaches for it. Turns it over, and at first he isn't sure what to do. There's a strange sting in his eyes, a horrible little turn in his gut. His finger traces over the figure, and finally, finally he smiles. A real smile. He doesn't lash out; he doesn't scream, or succumb to paranoia (and it's there, always), he just looks at his mother in the dress he last remembers her in, and he smiles. ]

Yeah. [Empathetic. He gets it now. He feels very seen, even if Steve is completely clueless.] Yeah. It's my mom.

[retromix]

[ His eyes widen as he watches Billy take the photo. ]

Sorry, I ... I warned you.

[ What the fuck does he say now? "Glad you got that photo of your dead parent you were craving, this pizza is amazing"? Yikes. Just gonna take his beer with him as he tries to tactfully give Billy a bit of space. What if it's in the direction of Steve's phone? Shut up. ]

[camarod]

Nah, it’s - [This is delayed. Steve’s already at his phone by the time he remembers to talk.

His mothers features are almost alien, now. All his surface memories are blurry, like an ols VHS that’s on its last legs. She’s so clear now, and Billy remembers better days.

It’s deeply ironic, he supposes, that it was mother who let him beat Henry, and now it’s her again that means -] Thanks. Shit. I guess I owe you one.

[retromix]

You don't, it's fine. I didn't have a clue what I was summoning, honestly.

[ Texting Eddie "Hargrove is visiting me with pizza". No reply, which means Eddie is either stoned, asleep, or listening to music so loud on the other side of the hotel he can't hear himself (or his alerts) think.

He stuffs his phone in a back-pocket, wandering over to lean on the back of an armchair. ]

[camarod]

Harrington, [he says, looking up and it’s meaningful. Sincere. This will never happen again.] Just take the I owe you. Don’t make it weird.

[retromix]

... Alright.

[ He still has no idea what to follow that up with. Bossing around the kids is one thing, he never really found his footing telling Billy what to do (until fists flew). ]

[camarod]

- You mind if I smoke?

[The photo is folded down the middle, slipped carefully into a pocket. It beats a Scorpion vinyl. The absurdity of it almost makes him manic. ]

Weed. I’ll share.