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Making friends had never been easy for Idirian, but it seemed to be the same for Eli. He wouldn’t say they were friends, but they had things in common and that was rare for Idri. The farther along Noa got in her pregnancy, the more he found himself wanting to ask Eli what he had done for Lily. He hoped the other man wasn’t annoyed with the questions Idri sent via text, but Eli had offered his advice that day in the bookstore.

Earlier that morning, Idri had sent Eli a text asking something completely unrelated to pregnancy.

Want to get some food? There’s food trucks gathering downtown.

Lily decided that he should take the day off and do something for himself, which he wasn't sure why she thought he needed anything like that. Either way, he supposed his wife had great timing because he received a text from Idirian asking if he wanted to go get some food, something he was only used to from the ones in his family. However, he did come to find that he appreciated all the questions the new father had for him. It was strange giving advice, but the quiet man wasn't very invasive, and that was something else he liked about him.

Sure. What time?

He was already getting ready while he waited, placing his hair in a bun since it was set to be hot outside.

He felt…oddly relieved when Eli had answered affirmatively. Idri sent a reply with a time, and once they had agreed Idri started getting ready. It was going to be hot outside, his least favorite weather, and his mostly black wardrobe did not lend to coolness in the summer. He asked Noa for her input as she relaxed on their brand new mattress and followed the advice of his very pregnant girlfriend. Noa, of course, was overjoyed that Idri was making friends and had encouraged him to ask Eli once she found out he’d been asking the other man for advice.

Idirian ended up with a heather gray t-shirt and black cargo shorts. He debated about his boots, but settled for a pair of black running shoes. Before he left, he leaned over and kissed first Noa, then her belly. “Daddy will be back soon, baby boy. Be good for Mommy, okay? Stay off her poor bladder.” With a crooked smile, Idri kissed Noa again. “I’ll bring something home for you, okay?”

It didn’t take him long to get to the place they agreed to meet and he looked around for Eli after he parked. There were a lot of people there but it wasn’t overly crowded, probably due to the heat. He could already feel the sweat forming on the back of his neck, and he saw a shower in his future.

He hated coming outside…It didn't matter if the weather was hot, cold, warm, or inbetween, he just ******** hated it. Even with his hair in a bun the sun was still beaming down on his poor body. Eli chose to go with shorts for once in his life and he made sure he had on sunscreen with lotion [he was not about to be that one person that went out with ashy a** knees because he was being lazy], deciding to walk over to their destination rather than driving since it was well within his walking distance.

It didn't take him too long to get to where their meeting spot would be, spotting Idri’s head over the crowd [pays to be tall sometimes]. As soon as he was in earshot he called out to the man and made his way towards him. The fact that Idri was wearing shorts just like him was amusing to say the least. He didn't think he could picture the brooding man in something other than pants. It was a nice change.

“You got roped into wearing shorts too?” Granted, Lily didn't make him do anything, but he could hear her voice in his head while he was getting dressed. No honey, I don't want to die from heat stroke.

Idri turned when he heard his name being called and immediately saw Eli. That…was a definite advantage to being tall. He wondered if that was how Noa found him in a crowd, too. Idri headed his way and met him in the middle, noticing that he too, was wearing shorts. A snort left him at Eli’s question and he nodded. “Yeah. Noa gave me one of those…looks.” Since Eli had already been through two pregnancies with his wife, he likely knew exactly what look he meant.

And here began the awkwardness that was usual when Idri tried to hang out with people. What were they supposed to talk about? Should he ask about his day? “So… See anything you want to try first?” He didn’t know about Eli, but Idirian could put away a lot of food. They could, in theory, spend all day out here until the trucks decided to leave.

Ahhh…He knew that look all too well.

Eli snorted and nodded with understanding. “Understandable.” He could feel the awkwardness in the air but he didn't know what to do with it. “Not really. But I guess I could try the….Taco that they have?” Maybe he should get some chicken tacos to take home for Lily and Colin to eat. He wasn't sure if Willow could have super solid foods just yet.

Idri nodded, and they headed toward the taco truck. Eli got the taco he’d seen and Idri tried a burrito. He relaxed a bit while they ate, and they continued to try different foods.

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Conversation had gotten easier the more time they spent together and before they realized it, the sun was setting and the trucks were beginning to close up. Noa had texted him throughout the day, but she had always seemed to be okay and just wanted to check in with him. They had already gotten food to take home to their families, and it seemed like they should head home. “Did you walk or drive?”

“I walked. I don't live too far from here.” It was strange not living in the penthouse anymore, but with their growing family, having a house just made more sense. He was about to get started when he saw a nest of…Eggs? Where did that come from? They weren't there before and they haven't left this spot at all. With a sigh, Eli cleared his throat, “Maybe you should get out of here…” Idri was someone he considered a friend and he didn't want to be responsible for telling his pregnant girlfriend that her boyfriend died due to some strange phenomena.

He walked closer to the eggs after setting down the food he had, stiffening when he heard a strange, beast-like sound. Great…He could either risk it and power up, hoping his friend was on the same side or a civilian that would keep their mouth shut. Worst case scenario? He was an order and then he would have to take his starseed really fast, leaving a boy without his father. Either way, Eli whispered ******** it and henshined into Villon, looking back over his shoulder at the tall man with crazed manic eyes.

“Hope you're good at keeping secrets Idirian…Dont wanna leave your baby boy without his father.” The beastly sound came closer along with the smell of sulfur, bringing his attention back to what could only be red ruby eyes. A cluck sounded, and Villon had to keep from asking what the ********. That could NOT be a chicken youma….

Idri opened his mouth to offer to drive Eli home when his friend sighed and suggested he leave. “What? Why?” he asked as he came closer and followed Eli’s line of sight. What…the actual ********? He set his food down with Eli’s and followed him to further inspect what looked like a nest of eggs. He heard the same sound Eli did, a guttural noise that wasn’t something he expected to hear in the city like this.

Well, at least before he became a Negaverse agent. He was about to tell Eli he should be the one to leave when the other man whispered something and then… ********. Eli was a senshi. Idri stared for a second as Eli spoke, then huffed a disbelieving laugh. “I’m ******** great at keeping secrets,” he replied before transforming, his shiny new hammer in his hand. “Let’s go kill something.” He gave Villon a gleefully murderous smile that faltered when there was a clucking noise.

“You can’t be ******** serious. It’s a chicken?”

Wow! That was the second time he’s gotten lucky with his transformation. First time was when he transformed in front of his cousin only to find out that he was Wither. That was also when he found out that crazy runs in the family apparently. Snorting at his friend’s comment, Villon cracked his neck, “Yes…Chicken apparently.” Black ink started to seep between his teeth and he turned back to smile at his friend, “Let’s murder something indeed.” The chicken charged forward and Eli immediately spat an inky tentacle at the thing, moving out of the way once it hit hits mark. “Ready to tenderize the meat?” Corny, but effective. A dad joke at it's finest.

That black ink spewing from his teeth was…interesting. Polarite hadn’t yet met any senshi on his side, so he was curious to say the least. He watched as a tentacle of some kind shot out of Eli and hit the chicken. (He still couldn’t believe the creature was a ******** chicken.) “So what’s that do?” he asked, jumping to one side and swinging his hammer for the youma’s skull as it came between them. He felt and heard the satisfying thud of impact, grinning as he turned to see what kind of damage he’d done.

As the chicken squawked and clucked as if it had seen something horrifying, the bonk to the head with the hammer confused it even further. “Causes nightmares. You see whatever causes you the most psychological distress.” It's interesting to see how his victims reacted to his little tentacles, and now he could say they do work on….Whatever that thing was. The chicken started backing away, unable to see where it was going. There was a sudden crack, and Villon laughed as the dumb thing managed to step on it's own eggs. Eventually, the chicken let out one last squawk, disappearing in a plume of smoke.

Villon blinked slowly, then turned to Polarite. “I guess that's it?”

Polarite couldn’t help a snicker as the stupid chicken stepped on its own eggs. “Really? Wonder what causes a chicken psychological distress,” he mused out loud, making a mental note to never be on the receiving end of Villon’s tentacles. He watched it stumble and squawk as he flipped and caught his hammer in one hand. Was it going to attack again? Eh, apparently not since it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He tilted his head to one side, wondering what the point of that was, then turned back to Villon. “Guess so.” He shrugged then, kind of glad that the one friend he actually had was also on the same side.

“How…Disappointing.” with a sigh, he powered down and walked over to where their food was. “I'll take that ride home, I forget that this city is prone to shenanigans at night.” that, and he really didn't feel like taking a starseed because a civilian decided to make themselves an easy target. He waited patiently for his friend to power down so they could begin the ride home.

Disappointing was certainly one word for it. He followed Villon in powering down, his hammer disappearing mid toss. Eli’s comment about the city’s nighttime tendencies made him snort as he headed to grab his food. “Sure, I’m over here,” he said and gestured toward his black SUV. A quick push of a few buttons had them inside and on the way to drop Eli off.