[ flashback prp ] somewhere to hide ( ember & lex )

[Carhop Cavalier]

Jesus ******** Christ.

"Four slices of combo, Mikey. Put a little hot sauce on the kid's." Because it would look like blood, or whatever. Odd, how Lex was so thoroughly weirded out by Angel, yet intent on making his evening in Vegas a nice one.

"Yessir, Mr. Jamil. Give us a sec, we've got a combo comin' outta the oven right now." The cook barked back, giving him a quizzical brow. Mr. Jamil never showed up with these kinds'a gals.

Two pints of draft were slid Lex's way, and one was offered to Angel. "I know you're underage and all, but don't worry about it. Stuff's good for the body."

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[its me debz]

To prove the kid statement wrong, Angel stuck his tongue out at Lex, annoyed but curious.

"Man, I really am like, staarviing," he whined. "It smells like, really good."

Angel accepted the pint, looking comically large in front him, second only to his owlish eyes. "Huh." He sniffed at it, curious. "We mostly have mead, cos we have an apiary and stuff. Do you like mead?"

He took a sip of the beer, wrinkling his nose delicately. "I'm not so sure about this. It's not sweet at all."

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

"Mm, not too big on mead. Sweet's not really my thing." Lex shrugged, grinning at Angel's sour face. Good; let him taste the swill and accept that- "Wait, your parents let you drink?" Such hypocritical concern, seeing as Lex had just bought the kid a pint.

"Anyway, not all alcohol should be sweet. Bitter stuff is for the refined palettes." The added "you'll thank me later" was unspoken.

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[its me debz]

Angel looked extremely sceptical at every single one of Lex's words.

"Uh, yeah! Never a lot though. Just like, a cup around the major holidays. Samhain, the Winter Solstice -- you know how it is."

He took another sip and made a face. No, he was pretty sure Lex was extremely wrong. Hella wrong. Forever and ever wrong. "How long does it take for the pizza, usually? And like, why are you being so nice? You didn't have to stay and stuff. I've been to bigger places by myself."

Not the whole truth, but he was trusted unsupervised pretty frequently.

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

"Major Holidays." At least Lex had heard of the Winter Solstice before - he just wasn't aware people still celebrated it.

Their pizza was hollered out to them, and Lex excused himself from the conversation briefly to grab the two plates, bringing them to the table with a smile at Angel. "Best damn pizza in town." There was just something about Italian sausage, green peppers, olives, and red onions that made the older man salivate.

"Despite the fact that I offered you a gig as a dancer, Angel - I'm actually what people might call A Good Person." Lex answered with a bit of a chuckle, biting into a slice, not speaking again before he'd finished chewing. "And Vegas is... it's called Sin City for more than one reason."

Because if a sober(ish) Lex mistook Angel for a girl, who knew what some drunk a*****e of a tourist would think? "Just call it a good deed, yeah? Makes the Big Man Upstairs happy."

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[its me debz]

Angel looked very sceptical at the claim, but shrugged and dug into his food, clearly starving. Still being a growing boy-- despite appearances-- and that meant he had the appetite of one.

"Huh. Well, whatever like, makes you tick I guess!" Angel licked grease off his fingers, looking more like a content dog than anything, clearly happy with the food.

"Haven't had pizza in like, years. My parents are opposed to processed meat, but pepperoni is like, the best."

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

"Well, that's just a crying shame." Lex shook his head, sipping from his pint. He hated beer, really, but there was just something about pizza that demanded the swill.

Angel ate like a teenage boy, and Lex wondered if he'd need to pony up some more food. "Slow down there, speed racer. You're not even gonna taste the food." He chuckled, drinking deeply again.

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[its me debz]

"You're telling me," Ember muttered, swinging his feet below the table.

He made a lemon face at Lex, and swallowed before sticking out his tongue, elbowing Lex in the ribs a little. "I can totally taste it! Shut up!"

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

Lex snorted at Angel, finishing off his first slice with a dab of his napkin to the mouth, getting all the grease from his stubble. Greasy beard wasn't attractive to anyone; even drunk-a** girls. "Mmmmhm. Whatever ya say, bud." Lex elbowed back, tussling his hair for good measure.

"Got any siblings, Angel? Or do you have to deal with your parents' stuff by yourself?" Lex asked before touching his second slice, actual curiosity in the question.

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[its me debz]

Ember shrugged a shoulder. "We like, live in a commune thing. I've got like, an older brother but he doesn't come around much, cos he travels for work and junk. Peace Corps. The rest are like, my blood-sisters and blood-brothers, but not by familial rights, you know? Do you have any siblings too?"

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

Oh God, help this poor child. A whole community of adults like his parents?

Maybe it was good Angel got left alone for periods of time.

"Got a younger sister; she's pretty lame." Lex joked, eyeing the other tables to make sure Claudia wasn't actually there. "People mistake us for twins, sometimes - it's funny, because she's my stepsister." He shrugged, tearing a bite of pizza off. "Truth be told, she feels more like family than anyone else."

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[its me debz]

Angel laughed, light but not fake in the slightest, covering his face with a grease stained hand.

"Well! That's gotta be like, fate and stuff. You've got to be blessed for that to happen! I wish I had a real sibling. Before the commune it was like, kind of lonely, you know? With only grown ups for friends? Cos, I was like, homeschooled and junk."

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

"Blessed is one way to put it." Lex chuckled, finishing off his last slice of pie, as well as the pint of beer, resting a hand on his stomach. That'd keep him tied over until the boys in the kitchen were ready to close down; the perfect time to nab some about to be thrown out fries and a bacon burger. "It is nice, having a constant friend. Don't know what I'd do without her, to be honest."

Lex crinkled his nose, shaking his head at Angel. "Ugh, homeschool? What a bore." There were no cute girls at home school. And no parties. Seriously, Lex was becoming more and more glad Angel's parents had let him just explore Vegas.

"You should definitely come back to the city, when you can. Lots of exciting stuff here, y'know? Hard to get bored in a town like this."

It wasn't, really. The Strip was truly the only fun part.

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[its me debz]

Angel appropriated cooed over that, finding it simply adorable. "It's not so bad. I get a pretty boring standard education, just with, like, extra awesome classes on the side. I still have to learn math and politics and junk. I read Paradise Lost and all that, too."

He shrugged, and started looking towards the door. "Oh, I like, super will! I'm sure this isn't the last we'll see of each other, the universe is funny like that, you know? Praise be Asmodeus, for his tidings of fatestrings."

Dodging forward, Angel embraced Lex-- quite possibly against his will-- in a quick hug. "Thanks for the food and talking and junk! You're not so bad for a hella old guy, you know, but I should go now."

Carhop Cavalier

 

[Carhop Cavalier]

Lex was almost startled by Angel's sudden hugging and affection, but managed to laugh it off and clap the kid on the shoulder. It was good timing, as he needed to be back at work soon, anyway.

"Hey, no problem man. See ya around." He chuckled again, standing up and finishing off his pint in a single gulp, headed to the door and keeping it open for Angel. "Be safe."

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