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thejusticelounge2013-07-28 02:07 pm
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-07-28 02:07 pm
Entry tags:
corrected flight
[Ring Txt] Well I ain’t Jimminy Cricket sittin’ on yer shoulder, chucklehead! Ha! Put the beer on ice, amigo, I’m incomin’.
[Ring Txt] Well well well
Fortunately, it being summer, Kyle already had a fridge well-stocked with beer. However, it was all lagers and only a couple ales, so he nipped out and got some darker brews at the corner store, as well as a bag of pretzels.
[Ring Txt] Sending coords for my place. I’m on the top floor so I’ll wait for you on the roof, mano. Welcome back.
Eventually Guy did touch down, grinning to see Kyle. “There’s my partner!" he grabbed Kyle’s forearm in both hands before pulling him into a hug. "Mogo an’ Sora say ‘hi’."
"Oh cool, cool - come on down," Kyle trotted down to the stairwell, back to his apartment, where he furnishes them both with beers and opens the bag of pretzels. He didn’t have a big bowl, but who cared, they could easily eat out of the bag.
"So - so you’re back! 2814.2 and all that? What happened?"
Guy was in mid-swig, and and extended it a little, partly from just enjoying the cold beer going down, and partly to keep his friend in suspense. "Officially, 100% certified fit for duty an’ back on the job!" he clinked his bottle to Kyle’s. “I turned in my ring, then hung out with Mogo. Relaxed, talked, did a little water skiing, tossed a little fruit around, y’know. Then back to Oa, a scan and a chit chat with Sora, clean bill of health, an’ back on duty!"
He took another healthy swig, leaned back against the couch and nodded, “All true. ‘Cept for the water skiing. So. What’s new with you?"
Kyle whooped as Guy related the good news and clinked bottles back. "Congratulations, man. I’m glad to hear it, for a lotta reasons, but mostly just. It’s good that you’re happy. That’s really good."
He hooks his feet on the rungs of the stool, drinking as well and then licking his lips at the end. "Water-skiing on Mogo does sound like a blast, ahaha. Nothing’s changed much here. Since you left Hasaragua it’s been what - a week? A nice slow week, for me. Which I’m not complaining about."
"Thanks, buddy. I’m…well, not unhappy, anyway. It’s kinda weird, I don’t feel a whole lot different, but maybe you’ll notice stuff I don’t, I dunno?"
He reached over and helped himself to a few pretzels. “Slow is good…" he agreed. They looked at each other warningly, being sure the other wouldn’t jinx it. Experience told them it was probably the calm before a storm. “Glad to make it back for a slow week."
He looked around the apartment, many old memories coming back to him, not all of them good. “Kyle…how come you chose to stay here? Y’know, I mean…" He stopped himself from finishing that with ‘after Hal left’, and instead added, “You don’t miss L.A. at all, do ya?" To him, Coast City had always been Hal’s, but he wasn’t about to say that aloud. If Kyle wanted to make it his as well, that was his right, but he still wondered why, like perhaps it wasn’t the the city Kyle was hanging onto, but his connection to Hal.
For Guy, this place was something very different. It was where he’d met and fell in love with Kari Limbo, found new meaning in life, had asked her to marry him…and it was where she and the other citizens of Coast City were killed by Mongol when he leveled their home.
"Maybe it takes time?" Kyle mused. “Point being that at least the Guardians saw you fit to be back on duty, and. We both know they’re a bunch of black and white, so." He nodded in satisfaction, pleased for once at the Guardians and their stark view of things.
He raised his brows at Guy’s question, gulping from the bottle and then pulling away with a satisfied ‘ahhh’. "I…yeah, no I miss LA, but after Parallax and when that Hal left, I just felt I had to, y’know. Stick around and let the Coasters know that they weren’t gonna be abandoned again. Left high and dry after what I did. I should be accountable for all that, y’know? When I left LA before to live in NYC, I tried to make that city my own, with, ah, mixed results, heh. But I was still glad I left. Sometimes LA is, like…too full. Of memories I need to move on from." Kyle studied the label of his beer for a moment before looking up again and smiling, a bit wryly.
"Plus the rent’s dirt cheap, so. You looking for a place in Coast? Now that you’re back?"
Guy watched Kyle closely as he spoke, trying to decide if it was accountability, or guilt that kept Kyle here. "After what Parallax did, bro," he corrected gently, “You said ‘after what I did’. Did ya mean to say that?"
"And yeah, I get the whole movin’ on thing, the memories of a place. This city always reminds me of Kari. Maybe the trick is creatin’ new memories, so a place ain’t got all bad ones, y’know? So like, you move on from ‘em emotionally instead of movin’ away from ‘em physically," he shrugs.
He bit a salt crystal off one of his pretzels, letting it roll and dissolve on his tongue. “I’m lookin’ for a place, but not a specific city. I just gotta get my ass off that tin can."
"Yeah, after what Parallax did, sorry. Thanks for pointing that out." Kyle nodded his appreciation and finished off his beer, feeling warm and satisfied. He got up and flicked on the ceiling fan anyway, if only to get some air circulating.
"Creating new memories is a good way to do it. You’re still going ahead with the bar plans on Venice Beach?" Kyle got himself another beer, looking over at Guy to see if he wanted one too.
"Well wherever you choose, it’ll be your decision. A nice fresh start and all that. The possibilities are endless for peeps like us, after all. You can make lists, like pros and cons and stuff. Or throw a dart at the map, whichever works best."
"Yeah, I’m kinda contently resigned to it. It beats a bankruptcy rap, an’ I’ll probably let Kate buy out my share once I’ve managed the bar long enough to pay her off for all the debt she took over from Warriors an’ the lawsuits." He gave Kyle a lopsided smile as he nodded that he’d like another beer, “Look at us, bein’ all accountable an’ shit for crap Parallax did. We’re pretty awesome, bro," he leaned over for a fist bump.
He cracked his beer and took a swig, “I don’t really needs lists, or a map this time around. I guess I’m not so much lookin’ for a city as I am a roommate. I miss just chillin’ out on my downtime, random guests droppin’ in, cookin’ for more than just myself on a semi-regular basis." His fingers twiddled with another pretzel, a physical metaphor for the entanglements of the past. Ones he believed he wouldn’t repeat now that his head was fixed, regardless of whom he lived with.
"Enough about me, man, I’m the one who’s been outta touch. I’d rather know what’s up with you." He fixed Kyle with a look, “Or don’t you have a personal life anymore? What’s goin’ on in Raynerland, besides a slow week?" he grinned warmly.
"Oh! Well that’s good. It’ll be exciting to get that back up and running! Busy too, you guys are picking a good time to get back into the business. Y’know I was browsing online and there were people talking on foodie groups about missing the old Warriors bar. Maybe you can start creating a buzz that way, ahah. For like whenever you have your public grand opening? That would be cool."
Kyle takes a few pretzels, leaning over to dip them methodically into the spicy honey-dijon sauce. "Heyyyy well that’ll certainly make things more fun when it comes to finding a place. Then you can have all of that back again, all the things you miss."
He laughed and nodded, shrugging at the same time as he consumed his pretzels. “Nah, I’m so busy I don’t need a personal life. Work’s good, I like all the people I work with and man - I’m learning a lot, or relearning stuff, but in a whole new way. Patterns, man. Patterns are amazing. Did you know there are a finite number of patters, but an infinite way of reproducing them? I almost lost myself once and was like ‘oh yeah - when I was in the Andoxyes Nebula, I saw this pattern in the star system that blah blah blah’….hah. Caught myself in time, though."
Guy grinned as Kyle went on about patterns, sharing his joy as he realized how much his ringslinging partner loved the subject. His enthusiasm was contagious. “It’s funny, because recently I thought of that kind of thing to get the Watchtower students excited about math sequences, since they’re gonna be workin’ with them next year, and I remembered this stuff about the Fibonacci sequence, an’ the Golden Ratio, an’ how they show up again and again in nature, in seemingly infinite ways."
He suspected Kyle knew about the Golden Ratio at least, since it was used in art a lot, so he showed him a few cool things with how many ways the Fibonacci sequence numbers showed up over and over in nature, especially plants like pineapples, sunflowers, and even dictated the location of growth of new branches or leaves on houseplants and trees. “It’s fuckin’ amazin’, amirite? I mean, even if math ain’t yer thing, it’s pretty damn cool. Y’think the kid’s’ll like it?"
At long last he drained his second beer, and eyed the heat outside. Yes, having a ring on a day like today was a very good thing…
"Hey, Kyle? What I was sayin’ earlier about wantin’ a roommate…I know we talked about it before, but, it was a ways back, an’ it was before Hal left…" He twisted his mouth slightly in sympathy, because he didn’t like opening a wound for Kyle by mentioning Hal. “I was wondering if you’d be interested? You were a pretty awesome roommate, and the bonus is, we wouldn’t be livin’ over a noisy bar this time. An’ with you workin’ days an’ me evenings, we wouldn’t be in each other’s way much, either."
He smiled wryly, “An’ just so ya know, ‘No, but thanks anyway Guy’, is a perfectly acceptable answer. We’re cool either way. I just…y’know, if I was gonna settle in a cheap-rent, Lantern-friendly town like Coast, it’d be awesome to have you for a roommate. If ya wanna think about it, make one of those pro-con lists, that’s cool."
"I think the kids will get a kick out of it, yup. I’m glad you’re already thinking of going back to the whole teaching thing in September! Because that’ll be really cool. So many things! The bar, and then eventually teaching. Good stuff, Guy."
Kyle listened, first surprised and then he smiled gently and apologetically at his friend. "No, but thanks anyway Guy. You were a pretty awesome roommate too, but no. And thanks for thinking of me."
Guy just smiled back, “Bro, who else would be my first choice? I’ll keep lookin’, but consider the offer on the table, indefinitely."
He tugged Kyle’s sleeve and ringed on street clothes. "C’mon, finish yer beer. I saw a game of b-ball goin’ on in the court down the block, let’s join ‘em. We can grab some pizza after from that place…y’know that place, an’ you can tell me all about yer job surrounded by sexy models all day. Christ, I haven’t had pizza in WEEKS…"
Kyle nodded and smiled back kindly, “It’ll keep it in mind, definitely. And good luck."
He made a lot of fuss and moaning about going to play sports, but Kyle was more than happy to go along with it, because pizza. "Trust me it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Working for Feast Magazine in New York was more upscale, everyone’s so laid back here, which is nice in a way…."
Kyle kept on nattering as they disposed the bottles in the recycle bin and Kyle got himself into something more sporty. He insisted on playing on Guy’s team and didn’t really do much else but pass the ball to Guy and cheer on his lay-ups.
After the game, they went to the pizza place Kyle had brought Guy once before. It smelled as good as he remembered, and as he pulled the slice from the pie and found it still attached by strings of mozzarella as it approached his mouth. On the first bite, he rolled his eyes in foodie bliss. “Oh, oh man…you have no idea how much I’ve missed American pizza. No idea."
He chewed for a bit, then pointed at Kyle, talking around the food in his mouth before washing it down with a sip of Pepsi. “Hey, you got plans for the 4th of July, bro? How’s about we give the peeps of Coast City a fireworks display they’ll never forget, Lantern-style?"
"Yesssssssss yes let’s do that thing," Kyle said, pounding his Fentimans soda bottle on the heavy wood table for emphasis. "That is a great idea. The city is gearing up for a block party in Midtown, I’ll talk to the CC Commissioner and ask if it’ll be okay. I think it totally will!"
"Ha haaaa when you were on Oa did you get to stop by the canteen and poke through all the alien food stuffs? Honestly, the way they tried to make Earth food, it was safer eating the alien stuff. At least then you didn’t know what it was supposed to taste like, ahah." Kyle folded his pizza slice, after liberally snowing it with Parmesan and inserted about half of it into his face.
"Hey, sounds great. You do that, an’ in the meantime, I’m gonna do a little house-huntin’. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of settlin’ down here, an’ not just associatin’ this town with Kari," he nodded at the waiter as he refilled their waters, grateful for the generous amount of ice included. Once he moved off, he added, “They sure love a Lantern here, but they’re not all creepy fanboy about it."
"I didn’t stop by the canteen. I just had long enough to conduct a bit of financial business with Salaak, an’ check in on the Big W. It’s doin’ great, by the way. The place was packed when I walked in."
"Financial business?" Kyle looked over in concern. “Is everything okay? If you need money or space bucks or something, I’d be fine lending you some. With interest or whatever you need to not feel indebted to me. My job right now is pretty sweet, and hopefully they’ll keep me on for the Fall as well."
Kyle grinned, happy to hear that Guy’s and his entrepreneurial baby on Oa was doing well. "That’s great. Who’s managing it now? When it got destroyed, I didn’t think it’d ever get rebuilt again. Good to know that our establishment was popular to get a second chance, Guy."
"Vandor’s kinda runnin’ the place, but Kilowog’s the real manager. He’s keepin’ a good eye on it. It’s real popular with the recruits, more for the booze than the food, but the vets are the ones that keep the kitchen busy," he explained with no small amount of pride in the legacy they’d built together.
He gave Kyle a grateful smile when he offered him money. "Aw, Kyle I appreciate it, buddy, really. But I’m fine. Better n’ fine. I talked Salaak into lettin’ me rebuild a Sector House here on Earth, since Parallax destroyed Hal’s. He gave me enough gold to purchase land and buildin’ materials." He grinned wide, “And ya talked me into it, no better place for it than Coast City, amirite?"
"Kilowog! Ah!" It was great that Kilowog had taken on the bar, especially because it was likely he was adding his own Bolovaxian flair, and running it like a ship. “I knew it was only a matter of time before he got his big ol’ mitts into that place, ha ha."
He smiled, splitting the bill for the pizza with Guy so they were completely square. "I’m so glad you are finding ways to keep yourself happy, it’s really great that you have all these plans. Good stuff, man." After being paid up, they headed outside into the bright sun. Kyle turned to Guy and clasped his arm warmly. “Well, I’m going to head home and get some work done. We’ll talk more later, okay? Keep me updated on all things to do with Guy, I’d love that."
"Uh-huh. Listen, Kyle…" he fixed him with a serious look, “That goes same fer me. It goes both ways, buddy. We’re partners, so, I’d love to know what’s goin’ on with you, too. I’ve been outta yer life long enough, y’know? I get the feelin’ I’ve missed a bunch."
He clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a nod, “We’ll see you for fireworks tomorrow, Kyle. Lookin’ forward to it!" he said as he changed to his uniform and lifted off the ground, to fly back to the Watchtower.
[Ring Txt] Well well well
Fortunately, it being summer, Kyle already had a fridge well-stocked with beer. However, it was all lagers and only a couple ales, so he nipped out and got some darker brews at the corner store, as well as a bag of pretzels.
[Ring Txt] Sending coords for my place. I’m on the top floor so I’ll wait for you on the roof, mano. Welcome back.
Eventually Guy did touch down, grinning to see Kyle. “There’s my partner!" he grabbed Kyle’s forearm in both hands before pulling him into a hug. "Mogo an’ Sora say ‘hi’."
"Oh cool, cool - come on down," Kyle trotted down to the stairwell, back to his apartment, where he furnishes them both with beers and opens the bag of pretzels. He didn’t have a big bowl, but who cared, they could easily eat out of the bag.
"So - so you’re back! 2814.2 and all that? What happened?"
Guy was in mid-swig, and and extended it a little, partly from just enjoying the cold beer going down, and partly to keep his friend in suspense. "Officially, 100% certified fit for duty an’ back on the job!" he clinked his bottle to Kyle’s. “I turned in my ring, then hung out with Mogo. Relaxed, talked, did a little water skiing, tossed a little fruit around, y’know. Then back to Oa, a scan and a chit chat with Sora, clean bill of health, an’ back on duty!"
He took another healthy swig, leaned back against the couch and nodded, “All true. ‘Cept for the water skiing. So. What’s new with you?"
Kyle whooped as Guy related the good news and clinked bottles back. "Congratulations, man. I’m glad to hear it, for a lotta reasons, but mostly just. It’s good that you’re happy. That’s really good."
He hooks his feet on the rungs of the stool, drinking as well and then licking his lips at the end. "Water-skiing on Mogo does sound like a blast, ahaha. Nothing’s changed much here. Since you left Hasaragua it’s been what - a week? A nice slow week, for me. Which I’m not complaining about."
"Thanks, buddy. I’m…well, not unhappy, anyway. It’s kinda weird, I don’t feel a whole lot different, but maybe you’ll notice stuff I don’t, I dunno?"
He reached over and helped himself to a few pretzels. “Slow is good…" he agreed. They looked at each other warningly, being sure the other wouldn’t jinx it. Experience told them it was probably the calm before a storm. “Glad to make it back for a slow week."
He looked around the apartment, many old memories coming back to him, not all of them good. “Kyle…how come you chose to stay here? Y’know, I mean…" He stopped himself from finishing that with ‘after Hal left’, and instead added, “You don’t miss L.A. at all, do ya?" To him, Coast City had always been Hal’s, but he wasn’t about to say that aloud. If Kyle wanted to make it his as well, that was his right, but he still wondered why, like perhaps it wasn’t the the city Kyle was hanging onto, but his connection to Hal.
For Guy, this place was something very different. It was where he’d met and fell in love with Kari Limbo, found new meaning in life, had asked her to marry him…and it was where she and the other citizens of Coast City were killed by Mongol when he leveled their home.
"Maybe it takes time?" Kyle mused. “Point being that at least the Guardians saw you fit to be back on duty, and. We both know they’re a bunch of black and white, so." He nodded in satisfaction, pleased for once at the Guardians and their stark view of things.
He raised his brows at Guy’s question, gulping from the bottle and then pulling away with a satisfied ‘ahhh’. "I…yeah, no I miss LA, but after Parallax and when that Hal left, I just felt I had to, y’know. Stick around and let the Coasters know that they weren’t gonna be abandoned again. Left high and dry after what I did. I should be accountable for all that, y’know? When I left LA before to live in NYC, I tried to make that city my own, with, ah, mixed results, heh. But I was still glad I left. Sometimes LA is, like…too full. Of memories I need to move on from." Kyle studied the label of his beer for a moment before looking up again and smiling, a bit wryly.
"Plus the rent’s dirt cheap, so. You looking for a place in Coast? Now that you’re back?"
Guy watched Kyle closely as he spoke, trying to decide if it was accountability, or guilt that kept Kyle here. "After what Parallax did, bro," he corrected gently, “You said ‘after what I did’. Did ya mean to say that?"
"And yeah, I get the whole movin’ on thing, the memories of a place. This city always reminds me of Kari. Maybe the trick is creatin’ new memories, so a place ain’t got all bad ones, y’know? So like, you move on from ‘em emotionally instead of movin’ away from ‘em physically," he shrugs.
He bit a salt crystal off one of his pretzels, letting it roll and dissolve on his tongue. “I’m lookin’ for a place, but not a specific city. I just gotta get my ass off that tin can."
"Yeah, after what Parallax did, sorry. Thanks for pointing that out." Kyle nodded his appreciation and finished off his beer, feeling warm and satisfied. He got up and flicked on the ceiling fan anyway, if only to get some air circulating.
"Creating new memories is a good way to do it. You’re still going ahead with the bar plans on Venice Beach?" Kyle got himself another beer, looking over at Guy to see if he wanted one too.
"Well wherever you choose, it’ll be your decision. A nice fresh start and all that. The possibilities are endless for peeps like us, after all. You can make lists, like pros and cons and stuff. Or throw a dart at the map, whichever works best."
"Yeah, I’m kinda contently resigned to it. It beats a bankruptcy rap, an’ I’ll probably let Kate buy out my share once I’ve managed the bar long enough to pay her off for all the debt she took over from Warriors an’ the lawsuits." He gave Kyle a lopsided smile as he nodded that he’d like another beer, “Look at us, bein’ all accountable an’ shit for crap Parallax did. We’re pretty awesome, bro," he leaned over for a fist bump.
He cracked his beer and took a swig, “I don’t really needs lists, or a map this time around. I guess I’m not so much lookin’ for a city as I am a roommate. I miss just chillin’ out on my downtime, random guests droppin’ in, cookin’ for more than just myself on a semi-regular basis." His fingers twiddled with another pretzel, a physical metaphor for the entanglements of the past. Ones he believed he wouldn’t repeat now that his head was fixed, regardless of whom he lived with.
"Enough about me, man, I’m the one who’s been outta touch. I’d rather know what’s up with you." He fixed Kyle with a look, “Or don’t you have a personal life anymore? What’s goin’ on in Raynerland, besides a slow week?" he grinned warmly.
"Oh! Well that’s good. It’ll be exciting to get that back up and running! Busy too, you guys are picking a good time to get back into the business. Y’know I was browsing online and there were people talking on foodie groups about missing the old Warriors bar. Maybe you can start creating a buzz that way, ahah. For like whenever you have your public grand opening? That would be cool."
Kyle takes a few pretzels, leaning over to dip them methodically into the spicy honey-dijon sauce. "Heyyyy well that’ll certainly make things more fun when it comes to finding a place. Then you can have all of that back again, all the things you miss."
He laughed and nodded, shrugging at the same time as he consumed his pretzels. “Nah, I’m so busy I don’t need a personal life. Work’s good, I like all the people I work with and man - I’m learning a lot, or relearning stuff, but in a whole new way. Patterns, man. Patterns are amazing. Did you know there are a finite number of patters, but an infinite way of reproducing them? I almost lost myself once and was like ‘oh yeah - when I was in the Andoxyes Nebula, I saw this pattern in the star system that blah blah blah’….hah. Caught myself in time, though."
Guy grinned as Kyle went on about patterns, sharing his joy as he realized how much his ringslinging partner loved the subject. His enthusiasm was contagious. “It’s funny, because recently I thought of that kind of thing to get the Watchtower students excited about math sequences, since they’re gonna be workin’ with them next year, and I remembered this stuff about the Fibonacci sequence, an’ the Golden Ratio, an’ how they show up again and again in nature, in seemingly infinite ways."
He suspected Kyle knew about the Golden Ratio at least, since it was used in art a lot, so he showed him a few cool things with how many ways the Fibonacci sequence numbers showed up over and over in nature, especially plants like pineapples, sunflowers, and even dictated the location of growth of new branches or leaves on houseplants and trees. “It’s fuckin’ amazin’, amirite? I mean, even if math ain’t yer thing, it’s pretty damn cool. Y’think the kid’s’ll like it?"
At long last he drained his second beer, and eyed the heat outside. Yes, having a ring on a day like today was a very good thing…
"Hey, Kyle? What I was sayin’ earlier about wantin’ a roommate…I know we talked about it before, but, it was a ways back, an’ it was before Hal left…" He twisted his mouth slightly in sympathy, because he didn’t like opening a wound for Kyle by mentioning Hal. “I was wondering if you’d be interested? You were a pretty awesome roommate, and the bonus is, we wouldn’t be livin’ over a noisy bar this time. An’ with you workin’ days an’ me evenings, we wouldn’t be in each other’s way much, either."
He smiled wryly, “An’ just so ya know, ‘No, but thanks anyway Guy’, is a perfectly acceptable answer. We’re cool either way. I just…y’know, if I was gonna settle in a cheap-rent, Lantern-friendly town like Coast, it’d be awesome to have you for a roommate. If ya wanna think about it, make one of those pro-con lists, that’s cool."
"I think the kids will get a kick out of it, yup. I’m glad you’re already thinking of going back to the whole teaching thing in September! Because that’ll be really cool. So many things! The bar, and then eventually teaching. Good stuff, Guy."
Kyle listened, first surprised and then he smiled gently and apologetically at his friend. "No, but thanks anyway Guy. You were a pretty awesome roommate too, but no. And thanks for thinking of me."
Guy just smiled back, “Bro, who else would be my first choice? I’ll keep lookin’, but consider the offer on the table, indefinitely."
He tugged Kyle’s sleeve and ringed on street clothes. "C’mon, finish yer beer. I saw a game of b-ball goin’ on in the court down the block, let’s join ‘em. We can grab some pizza after from that place…y’know that place, an’ you can tell me all about yer job surrounded by sexy models all day. Christ, I haven’t had pizza in WEEKS…"
Kyle nodded and smiled back kindly, “It’ll keep it in mind, definitely. And good luck."
He made a lot of fuss and moaning about going to play sports, but Kyle was more than happy to go along with it, because pizza. "Trust me it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Working for Feast Magazine in New York was more upscale, everyone’s so laid back here, which is nice in a way…."
Kyle kept on nattering as they disposed the bottles in the recycle bin and Kyle got himself into something more sporty. He insisted on playing on Guy’s team and didn’t really do much else but pass the ball to Guy and cheer on his lay-ups.
After the game, they went to the pizza place Kyle had brought Guy once before. It smelled as good as he remembered, and as he pulled the slice from the pie and found it still attached by strings of mozzarella as it approached his mouth. On the first bite, he rolled his eyes in foodie bliss. “Oh, oh man…you have no idea how much I’ve missed American pizza. No idea."
He chewed for a bit, then pointed at Kyle, talking around the food in his mouth before washing it down with a sip of Pepsi. “Hey, you got plans for the 4th of July, bro? How’s about we give the peeps of Coast City a fireworks display they’ll never forget, Lantern-style?"
"Yesssssssss yes let’s do that thing," Kyle said, pounding his Fentimans soda bottle on the heavy wood table for emphasis. "That is a great idea. The city is gearing up for a block party in Midtown, I’ll talk to the CC Commissioner and ask if it’ll be okay. I think it totally will!"
"Ha haaaa when you were on Oa did you get to stop by the canteen and poke through all the alien food stuffs? Honestly, the way they tried to make Earth food, it was safer eating the alien stuff. At least then you didn’t know what it was supposed to taste like, ahah." Kyle folded his pizza slice, after liberally snowing it with Parmesan and inserted about half of it into his face.
"Hey, sounds great. You do that, an’ in the meantime, I’m gonna do a little house-huntin’. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of settlin’ down here, an’ not just associatin’ this town with Kari," he nodded at the waiter as he refilled their waters, grateful for the generous amount of ice included. Once he moved off, he added, “They sure love a Lantern here, but they’re not all creepy fanboy about it."
"I didn’t stop by the canteen. I just had long enough to conduct a bit of financial business with Salaak, an’ check in on the Big W. It’s doin’ great, by the way. The place was packed when I walked in."
"Financial business?" Kyle looked over in concern. “Is everything okay? If you need money or space bucks or something, I’d be fine lending you some. With interest or whatever you need to not feel indebted to me. My job right now is pretty sweet, and hopefully they’ll keep me on for the Fall as well."
Kyle grinned, happy to hear that Guy’s and his entrepreneurial baby on Oa was doing well. "That’s great. Who’s managing it now? When it got destroyed, I didn’t think it’d ever get rebuilt again. Good to know that our establishment was popular to get a second chance, Guy."
"Vandor’s kinda runnin’ the place, but Kilowog’s the real manager. He’s keepin’ a good eye on it. It’s real popular with the recruits, more for the booze than the food, but the vets are the ones that keep the kitchen busy," he explained with no small amount of pride in the legacy they’d built together.
He gave Kyle a grateful smile when he offered him money. "Aw, Kyle I appreciate it, buddy, really. But I’m fine. Better n’ fine. I talked Salaak into lettin’ me rebuild a Sector House here on Earth, since Parallax destroyed Hal’s. He gave me enough gold to purchase land and buildin’ materials." He grinned wide, “And ya talked me into it, no better place for it than Coast City, amirite?"
"Kilowog! Ah!" It was great that Kilowog had taken on the bar, especially because it was likely he was adding his own Bolovaxian flair, and running it like a ship. “I knew it was only a matter of time before he got his big ol’ mitts into that place, ha ha."
He smiled, splitting the bill for the pizza with Guy so they were completely square. "I’m so glad you are finding ways to keep yourself happy, it’s really great that you have all these plans. Good stuff, man." After being paid up, they headed outside into the bright sun. Kyle turned to Guy and clasped his arm warmly. “Well, I’m going to head home and get some work done. We’ll talk more later, okay? Keep me updated on all things to do with Guy, I’d love that."
"Uh-huh. Listen, Kyle…" he fixed him with a serious look, “That goes same fer me. It goes both ways, buddy. We’re partners, so, I’d love to know what’s goin’ on with you, too. I’ve been outta yer life long enough, y’know? I get the feelin’ I’ve missed a bunch."
He clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a nod, “We’ll see you for fireworks tomorrow, Kyle. Lookin’ forward to it!" he said as he changed to his uniform and lifted off the ground, to fly back to the Watchtower.