Trucker's pad, Saturday night

[lovemykilt]

The good thing about Trucker was, when Priestly decided at closing time that he didn't really want to go home to his place knowing that Jen and the girls were off meeting Fuzzy and he would just be sitting on his ass, he didn't even have to ask. Trucker hitched a ride in Priestly's crappy jeep and invited him in for a beer.

"You're old enough to drink, right?" Trucker asked.

"Legally?"

Trucker snorted, then gave Priestly the beer bottle, then flopped down into the other beanbag chair. "Alright, kid. Out with it."

Priestly shrugged. "I just got a bad feeling, you know?"

"About Fuzzy?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Fuzzy sounds cool. I'm proud of Jen, it's really brave, going up to meet him and all."

"About Piper."

"Yeah. Well, kinda. It's a little skeevy. I mean, I get it, but still. Skeev."

"Yeah, I know. But we are not here to judge, Priestly. We are here only to support and encourage them on their way."

"Mmm, hippie zen." Priestly took a swig of his beer, then checked the label. "Huh. Korean?"

Trucker nodded. "Figured I'd remind you of your adventure."

Priestly managed not to shudder. His main memories of his adventure were not that great, no. "Thanks, man. I tell you who I'm really worried about, though --"

"Tish," Trucker said, a small smile on his face.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only to those of us with eyes. You don't approve."

"I don't." Priestly slouched back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling. "It's not just that I'm jealous. I mean, I'm totally jealous, don't get me wrong, I've been in love with Tish since that first day when she thought I was your niece."

"Which is still very strange, by the way."

"Don't I know it. But Tad? Tad's a creep. He's so not the guy for her. Hell, I'd rather she go back to sleeping with the rest of the male population of Santa Cruz under thirty than stick with Tad."

"I admit, he's not who I hoped to see her with."

"You were hoping to see her with me, right?" Trucker just smiled again, and Priestly nodded, sipping his beer. "Right on."

"But still, it's not our place --"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Trust me, I'm well versed in the art of playing support to amazing, gorgeous ladies."

"Speaking of," Trucker asked. "How's Dinah doing?"

Priestly smiled. "Good! I mean, her gig ain't easy, you know? New Gotham has its issues, and I think maybe she's still a little torn up about what happened before New Years, but she's branching out. Taking a job at a tattoo parlor, even."

"What, not graffiti?"

"Nah, that's my gig. We'll probably trade off at some point."

Trucker nodded. Priestly pretended he couldn't see the little schemey glint in Trucker's eye.

"When did we get so emotionally mature?" Priestly wondered. "We're dudes, aren't we supposed to, like, bottle our shit up and grunt a lot?"

"Please, that's just what the Man wants you to think."

Priestly nodded again. "Right on, man, right on."

[ooc: missing scene, if you will, of canon. What Trucker and Priestly get up to while Jen has her big speech in Moral Bay. Open for phone calls, so long as you're down with the SP shuffle.]

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

*riiiiing*!

Someone's got a job! ... and other news.

[lovemykilt]

Priestly flipped out his phone, expecting a call from Tish or Piper. Dinah wasn't even remotely a disappointment, but man, why hadn't Tish or Piper called to tell them how it went, yet?

"Who's that, then?" Trucker asked.

"Dinah. You mind?"

"Not at all! I'll put some sheets on the couch. You're crashing here, tonight."

"It's only one beer!"

"Don't argue with me, Priestly, I know your mother's number."

Priestly pouted at him as he answered the phone. "Fine, we'll make it a sleepover, then! Hiya, Dinah."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Hey, dude. Where are you sleeping over?" Dinah asked, curious.

She was standing on the roof of the dorm, watching a midnight death frisbee tournament, and debating going down to join in. Watching the green glow-in-the-dark frisbee whiz by, it looked fun. But she was supposed to work tomorrow.

[lovemykilt]

Eh, working while fully rested was totally over-rated.

"Trucker's. We're lady-less for the weekend, so we're banding together. Of course we wouldn't be if he'd ask Zo over!"

A pillowcase hit Priestly in the head.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I SUPPORT THIS POSITION!" Dinah called through the phone, hoping Trucker could hear her. "Dude, this is ridiculous. Trucker's supposed to be a grown-up! Or something."

[lovemykilt]

"Probably the latter. He did give alcohol to a minor, this evening." Priestly took another swig of his beer. "He's clearly a bad influence."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah snorted, then snickered. "Hey, where are Jen and the rest? Why aren't they there to be badly influenced? And does it count as bad, or much influence, if the minor in question got drunk three years ago around now?"

[lovemykilt]

"Hush, he doesn't know of my sordid past."

"That's what you think!"

"Anyway, Jen and the girls are down in Moral Bay, meeting up with Fuzzy."

Did he sound a little gleeful at that? 'Cause he totally was. Jen was going to meet Fuzzy!

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Eeeeeeeeeeee!!" Dinah bounced, now wholly distracted from frisbees, and demanded, "She finally did it? They finally decided? Where are they meeting? YAY!"

[lovemykilt]

Priestly knew she'd do that. He'd even had the phone slightly away from his ear in preparation.

"He's from near LA, so they're meeting at a bar halfway. I said I'd go with them, but nooooooo, they totally rejected me. So me and Trucker are keeping things calm on the homefront while we wait."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"If Piper and Tish are there to kick ass if needed, she's already got enough of an entourage... but I wish you could've gotten to go along too," Dinah admitted. "Waiting is killer. Jeez. Man. I am so calling back tomorrow to hear how it went."

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah, well, if they ever tell me, I'll totally pass word along. Dinah, our little Jen's all grown up!"

Never mind that she was actually a bit older than Priestly was.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I feel so proud." Dinah faked a sniff. Then really sniffed. "I'm joking, but it's the truth. That is so... awesome." She sighed. "Nnngh. And way cooler than me telling you I start at the tattoo place tomorrow."

[lovemykilt]

"No not more awesome!" Priestly said. "Different awesome! Yay, tattoo parlor job! Are you excited?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"It is kinda different-awesome, isn't it?" More low-key awesome. "More wildly curious about what it's going to be like. I talked to Eve, the owner, yesterday? And they can't take me on as an apprentice, but they really do need the office-type help, and she said I could observe if people were cool with it, learn stuff that way. And we'd maybe talk about a tattoo I could do myself in a few months. It's mostly afternoons, when I don't have classes." Dinah bounced on her toes, surprised to feel a grin starting.

[lovemykilt]

Priestly was totally grinning. "That completely fucking rocks. Maybe this summer you can do a one on me."

Trucker half choked in the background. Priestly studiously ignored him.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"You'd trust me to do that?" Dinah probably sounded half-thrilled, and half-worried. "It'd have to be something simple, Priestly. I mean, maybe not even with a fill..." But ooo, more motivation to get good enough to be able to try. "You don't have something in mind already, do you?"

[lovemykilt]

"You say that like I plan these things. You'll totally be fine, I'm sure of it. And we can just do it where no one else will see, if you want."

Trucker was now thinking he was doing that on purpose, yes.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Priestly!" Dinah laughed, then said mischievously, "To match your other tattoo? The one where--"

[lovemykilt]

"Shush! I'll have you know you're the only one other than the artist and Claudia whose seen that one."

And his mother. It wasn't his fault she'd busted in on him that one time while he was changing.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I feel honored," Dinah told him, grinning. And in a weird tiny way, smug. "--Although that's got to change at some point, but moving on, 'cause I'm not nagging you... okay. Yes. Work tomorrow, and learning stuff from Buffalo and Lottie, and I'll tell you how it goes. I want to earn my own tattoo by my birthday. Another white one, I think." She grinned. "You could always get a nice motto somewhere? In teeny print?"

[lovemykilt]

"I totally could! One of them's named Buffalo? Where could you go wrong?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"See? And yes, he's a real cool guy, very laid-back, he's been doing this awhile. He said he has to be laid-back since he quit smoking, or he'd die... anyway, I really am looking forward to this. Life's been too tame with just classes and my night job." Dinah grinned. "But yeah, my Spring Break is in three weeks, I can at least show you what I've seen by then, and see the outside of the Grill! And ooooo, maybe meet Fuzzy? You think?"

[lovemykilt]

"Could be! I dunno how they're gonna work out the distance, but that'd be cool. And since when is your night job 'too tame'?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Since the Penguin has apparently gone legit." Dinah snorted. "Which, I'm still trying to figure out how that's possible, and we have his nightclub under surveillance, but so far, so far... nada." She blew a raspberry. "And distance blows. I mean, I know Jen and Fuzzy have done great all this time with just the internets, but it's different when you want to be around someone full-time, you know?"