(Open - Finn's Pub)

[freefromsin]

Caleb hadn't known what to expect when he came to Siren Cove. At the very least, he just wanted to know that Gabe was still alive. He is, and he's doing well for himself. He has a support system and a job, and it makes Caleb's heart happy to know it. But those are two things more than Caleb can say for himself. He's running out of the measly amount of money he's been trying really hard not to touch and to save for an emergency, he hasn't had a proper shower in days, not to mention a meal or a real place to sleep. He finally got Leo's brother on the phone, and there's still a spot open for him in Portland. He needs to get going.

After washing up in a public restroom, Caleb makes his way Finn's Pub to hopefully catch Gabe at the end of his shift.


[ooc: even though Caleb is looking for Gabe, feel free to tag him if you want, lurking outside of Finn's Pub]

Comments

[overdrawing]

Gabe hasn't been watching the door, exactly, but it's felt like there's a certain frisson in the air ever since Caleb came in the other day. It's the first time his old and new lives have met and it's oddly...okay. The lack of implosion has given him a tiny bit of hope.

"You came," he says, smiling a tiny bit.

[freefromsin]

Caleb meets Gabe's smile with one of his own when finally comes out.

He gently taps the knuckle of his index finger to Gabe's forehead. "Well, I didn't come to Siren Cove for the ocean views."

[overdrawing]

Even with friends from Before, Gabe is still uncomfortable with casual touch. He doesn't flinch so much as pause, unaware that his expression is not dissimilar to a dog hit with a spray bottle.

"You'd be pretty amazed at the ocean though," he says.

[freefromsin]

"...I wasn't gonna hit you," Caleb says with a small frown at Gabe's reaction.

He shrugs, dismissive about the ocean. "I walked by it yesterday. It was okay. Sunny."

[overdrawing]

"I know," he says, a little embarrassed. "I'm not used to anyone touching me, still." Caleb will understand, growing up in a house that was equally sparing with physical affection and generous with physical discipline.

"I like going at night. It helps me think."

[freefromsin]

Caleb knows, but he was more or less thrust into a world of casual affection, and he's acclimated. Gladly.

He pats Gabe on the back, and then, giving him ample time to realize what he's about to do, touches him briefly and gently on the cheek. "You'll get used to it, if you let people in."

"Want to take a walk? I brought you something."

[overdrawing]

Gabe goes still, but doesn't look afraid. In that touch, he can't help remembering that night, how safe and wanted he had felt. If only the conflicted feelings hadn't followed after.

"I'm not very good at letting people in," he admits. "But let's go, yeah."

[freefromsin]

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Caleb says, lightly teasing. As he walks alongside Gabe, wherever he's taking them, he pulls his backpack around and unzips it. He digs around a moment before he produces a slightly tattered paperback book.

He offers it over. Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin. "This is for you. A going away present."

[overdrawing]

"Like the Christmas hymn," Gabe says, taking the book in hand. Just knowing what he does of Caleb's life now, Gabe doubts that anything in this book is about Christian comfort. It feels as forbidden as the deck of tarot cards in his backpack but he's not as frightened as he was before.

"I don't know why you have to leave," he says, aware of his plaintive he sounds. "The beach?"

[freefromsin]

"It's a good book. I hope you like it," he says with a small smile.

Caleb nods at Gabe's suggestion of the beach, feeling the back of his neck go warm at the sound of Gabe's voice. Like he doesn't want Caleb to leave. And...honestly, he doesn't want to leave Gabe.

"I'm broke," he says quietly. "I have nowhere to stay. If that job goes well, I can make good money. I'll save it, and...I don't know. You could come stay with me, when I get a place. If you want."

[overdrawing]

Gabe feels a little torn at that. It's nice, being wanted, but suddenly the thought of leaving Siren Cove seems impossible. "I don't know. This is the first place that's ever really felt like home and..."

He sighs, walking them down the road to the nearest stretch of beach. The moon is heavy in the sky, but not full yet. Connected as he is to water and the tide, he's become more sensitive to the phases of the moon.

"There's something I need to show you."

[freefromsin]

Caleb's eyebrows go up, surprised to hear this place feels like home for Gabe. He didn't realize he was so attached. Nowhere's ever felt like home to Caleb. He pushes his own disappointment aside, having hoped, however feeble, that maybe he wouldn't have to be alone.

"Oh?" he asks, looking over.

[overdrawing]

"Yeah it's...part of the reason that I don't want to leave this place yet," he admits. The pavement ends, leading into a staircase down to a section of beach. This late in summer, it's very cold and he offers Caleb his sweatshirt instead.

"Do you think magic is real?"

[bachjones]

It's that Bach knows that this place doesn't have homeless people, and that this guy's song is full of nerves and discomfort. Else he would have dodged him, he's got enough problems of his own.

"You're allowed to go in, you know." Alfred balanced on his shoulder like he was a ginger parrot instead of a cat. "Stay out of it, curious cat."

[freefromsin]

Caleb is too busy staring at the cat on this guy's shoulder to reply at first.

"...Huh?" he says eventually. "Oh, I know. I'm waiting for my friend's shift to end."

But, more importantly...

"How do you get your cat to stay on your shoulder."

[bachjones]

"Are you not twenty one yet?"

The question makes him laugh. "Alfred is too dumb to remember how he got on and how to get off. I think his paws are magnetic as well, but maybe that's just a cat thing."

[freefromsin]

"Of course I am," Caleb scoffed. It was a lie, but he had a fake ID that said otherwise.

He raises an eyebrow and smiles. "I've never seen a cat ride on someone like that, it's pretty funny."

[bachjones]

"Okay, dude, relax. I'm not the pub police here, just saying that inside it's more exciting."

Alfred seems to cherish the attention, making for Bach's head with already one paw up. "Alfred, don't you dare. You're a stupid cat, not an acrobat. He discovered it's easier to keep up with me like this than walk behind me and get distracted by everything", he added to the kid. "Now it's a challenge to leave the house."

[freefromsin]

"Hm, it seems too nice to be exciting. Are you going in? Can your cat drink?" Caleb jokes, grinning a little, watching Alfred's progress in scaling this guy's head.

[bachjones]

"Relaxed exciting then. I just dropped off my kid for his first day of proper school. I'm going to need some pub comfort to distract me." Christ, was the man seeking problems where there were none.

"If I'd allow him, no doubt. Don't know if Finn will allow it."

[freefromsin]

"Dad problems, huh?" He really was meeting a lot of dads. Of course, from what little he's seen of this town, it does seem like a nice, family-friendly place. "How old does that mean? Five?" he guesses.

"Yeah, you can't really card a cat."

[bachjones]

"Five, maybe a bit older but we're still checking that." He nods. "Hole in one. I have no clue what to do right now, got the entire day off from the bosses."

"Alfred would eat the card, so let's not." He offers a hand. "Bach. Will you find it easier to go in if I offer you a drink?"

[freefromsin]

Caleb blinks, wondering how he doesn't know how old his own kid is.

"Oh," he says, caught off guard. He shakes Bach's hand. "I'm Caleb." He considers, a moment. He knows Gabe gets off soon, but...a free drink is a free drink. "Sure, thanks, man."

[bachjones]

"And I didn't even have to start singing." Not that he's sure that he wants to get into the guy's song, it's all over the place and the chorus is hidden somewhere deep, it's a mess. But if Bach can distract himself by distracting someone else, why not?

Alfred meows like in agreement, and it's that he feels the tensity in his back legs that Bach catches him just in time, half way in the air towards Caleb. It's a good thing Alfred sort of fits in Bach's hand, Cinderella would have dropped like a brick. "Means he likes you. Let's go."

[freefromsin]

Caleb laughs. "What? Singing?"

"Oh my god, if he wants to sit on me, he can," he says, opening the door for Bach and following him in. There's no way he'd say no to a cat hanging out on his shoulder.