Oh, the urge that stirred in his chest to suddenly whip around against the pull of his own seatbelt and say something begrudgingly snappy to the man that'd saved his life.
But Coady was laughing---
An oiled rusty hinge of puberty-snickers that grew ever squeakier with each muffled giggle. Triton was rather stunned, gaped into the rearview mirror like a slapped fish. Adrian had managed to crack that rough teen-aged-going-on-thirty shell and drag an honest to gods spark of genuine happiness outta the kid.
So Triton swallowed his pride, shut his mouth and took the gentle ribbing as his due; snorting some rough sound and smiling in response to the tease Adrian seemed to speak with fluent ease. If this was what the kid needed? To watch someone Tritons own size poke him apart in the passenger seat while playing ice-pics-to-his-ears music?
Then so be it.
He could almost feel Coadys eyes shift, the small bit of light in them as the kid opened his mouth to respond;
"Sure---man, like a Schlitz Creek sketch? You two could probably make a killing at a really cheap sushi place. The kind where you pay to use the bathrooms.." sly as slippers across the tile floor, kicking his feet errantly as his eyes ticked between Triton and Adrian just to see....
"I think even a place like that'd kick us out 'fore they'd buy the rank-grade seaweed outta our drawers, Coady. I could stand t'be hobo chic tho, ******** it? We could do a, the hell is it, Adrian? You know -- tik-tak?" and by Coadys muffled wince n guffaw, he knew he'd gotten it wrong enough to have also gotten things right. But it was fine, felt good, even. Not the squelch of sitting in half wet half dry clothes, or the way everything stuck to the seat as he peeled out of the place.
But meeting Adrian? Listening to Coady laugh as they traded barbs n talked sass? That. That all felt good. Triton wondered why he hadn't done this socializing s**t before, so stuck in his head n his head stuck up his a** where his three-point-five other jobs lived?
He vowed to do better by both himself and the kid; windows rolled down and summer breeze turning his tangled hair into matted locs for sure. Hopefully doing some good of wafting all that reservoir specific stink outta his truck as they drove off n away.
Strickenized
*making a finn for more wins~
