What It All Comes Down To

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, OTA
WHERE: Around Temba
WHAT: Coming Down From It All (Post House of Billy)
WHEN: The first week post event [Forward Dated]
WARNINGS: CW: Referenced sexual encounter in thread with Kyle, Referenced child abuse in thread with Kyle.


A. Keeping The Diners Supplied The Diner
"Delivery of fresh produce."

Tommy's tired. Perhaps that's why he's coming in later than normal with supplies for this meal shift. Perhaps that's why he looks frazzled and his hair is limp and he's not racing in with all speed. Clearly it's not the heavy crate loaded down with all sorts of foods from the green house, because that's never slowed him down before. But sleep after something like what they'd gone through was... Well, unlikely.

"The cyanana harvest is starting, so I'm thinking about trying to figure out how to make some sorta pudding out of it. That's a thing, right? Banana pudding or something."

He'd been enough out of it on entering that he didn't even know who it was he was talking to. Like hell he'd thought about how the kitchen help rotation was working now. Nor did he care. He was too tired from all his dreams to care.


B. Healing Power of Horticulture The Greenhouse
If there was one place that Tommy often found peace, it was the greenhouse. Today Tommy was trying his best to work there without getting too complicated with other people. For this he'd done the best thing he could do: working the mint wing. The advantage that came that the specific wing was sealed off from the rest of the greenhouse to keep it from spreading too much. Tommy moved slowly through it with a woven rush basket, humming quietly under his breath some German pop music he remembered from back home. While he moved he clipped little sprigs of mint to pass on to Glownies as a treat.

The advantage of the sealed area was that when the doors opened, Tommy knew someone was there. He could hear it. He turned to look at the door and frowned.

"Can I help you? I thought I was soloing the mint today."


C. The Solitary Island Closed to Aeon
It took a while for him to find her, but Tommy had wanted to have an excuse to get away, but he didn't want to be put into a position where his stupid brain could interrupt him. There had been someone interested after all, and so he'd raced through the city until he found her.

"Aeon," he said, offering a hand up for a high five. "You doing anything? Because if not, island time."


D. Wild Card
[Feel free to hit me up on Discord or Plurk to discuss places Tommy could get cornered. Or just have someone come to his actual home. Other options are to find him lazing by the fountain, on top of a tall building, or hiding out with the glownies which he normally does not visit.]

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Big sister vibes? Tommy's never had a big sister, so he wouldn't know. Tommy, though, for his own sanity, keeps his own eyes on the cooking tool. Because looking at Kyle would make life harder.

"I suppose it depends. Like, I like playing with electronics stuff, Stark's been teaching me some. Well, I've been watching. And I knew some of that already. But I guess I'd need to think a bit more specifically and figure out what does and doesn't make me confused."

[kyley_b]

Kyle nods, falling silent for a while as he works to get things set up for the day. Eventually he risks a glance over at Tommy again.

"I get it."

[doubled_speed]

Get it? Yeah, he probably does. Tommy takes a deep breath.

"I still don't know what to do here. About all of this. Like, what if I assume you like something here because I remember it, and you HATE it?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle smiles in spite of himself. "I mean... I'd tell you? I figure you'd tell me if I did the same." He pushes his mop of hair back.

"I'm not gonna yell at you just because we might get mixed up. Besides, offhand I can't think of anything I like that I hated over there or vice versa."

[doubled_speed]

"Alright," Tommy answered and moved to start chopping for a salad for lunch.

It meant he could have his back to Kyle and not see the reaction to his question.

"What about contact? Like... where are the lines? My instinct is just to fucking lean all over you all the time."

[kyley_b]

Probably a good thing they weren't looking at each other, because Kyle could feel himself blush.

"Uhm. I mean. I'm used o being leaned on. Growing up I was really physical with all of my friends. So it's fine."

He wasn't entirely sure if that was true, or if he was just not ready to let go of it yet.

[doubled_speed]

"Alright," Tommy said. It was different. He wasn't typically physical with other people. David and Billy were the exceptions, and with Billy that was basically new to his time here.

[kyley_b]

Kyle risks a glance over his shoulder. "Like, whatever you're comfortable with, dude." Half joking, he adds, "Just no tongue."

[doubled_speed]

"You're going to kill me," Tommy groans, setting his knife aside. "Seriously, if you talk like that you're inviting trouble. And we've seen plenty of trouble."

He just wants to go hide in the greenhouse. Or the farm. Or at home.

[kyley_b]

"I was kidding!" Kyle turns around and just barely resists hugging Tommy again.

"Sorry, sorry. No more jokes, okay? I'm sorry. It's just like... I'm trying not to be weird. Because of course I wanna kiss you. But I won't. I have years and years of experience NOT kissing people I wanna, okay? We'll be fine."

He turns back to his work. "Just fine."

[doubled_speed]

"Years?" Tommy asks, intrigued by that. "Me? I'm not exactly known for restraint most of the time. World's too slow."

Which Tommy has absolutely complained about before. Kyle knew about it, or the Human Kite had, in was a lot of people didn't.

[kyley_b]

"Yup. I tend to be attracted to people I like, which can be problematic."

His expression softens and he nods. "I know. You're stuck walking backwards so often. Metaphorically, I mean."

[doubled_speed]

Oh, that does sound problematic. How strange.

"I tend to be attracted to people who are really out of my league," Tommy offered with a shrug. So maybe that said what he thought about Kyle.

"And I'm really good at walking backwards literally too."

[kyley_b]

Kyle laughs his stupid hyena cackle of a laugh. "Well, see? Now you've gone and broken yourself of THAT habit. The curse is lifted."

He looks around again. "Oh yeah? I bet you can't do it without crashing into shit."

[doubled_speed]

"We have different opinions," Tommy shrugged. But hey, someone telling him he can't do it has Tommy grinning.

"Nope. I'm totally good at doing it without crashing."

[kyley_b]

"Dude, I am NOT out of your league. Even there."

He shakes his head, smirking. "Bullshit. Bet you can't make it across the front of the diner.

[doubled_speed]

Lies. Tommy rolls his eyes but since he's not looking at Kyle, no way it's going ot be noticed, right? Right.

"After you're done cooking, I'll show you. Hell, I can RUN backwards."

[kyley_b]

"Bullshit you can," Kyle goads him. He knows that it's probably going to be easy for Tommy, but it's good to hear him sound more like himself.

[doubled_speed]

He feels more like himself to not lose to all of this ease. Somehow they'd skipped some of the steps to forming a friendship. It was a nice thing, even if it was weird.

"What do I get when I prove you're wrong?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle taps a finger against his chin. "Hmmm. You geeeeeeeet... okay, I gotta do all the dishes today?"

[doubled_speed]

Well that's hardly a win.

"That seems like it's helping someone other than me. Bad prize, man."

[kyley_b]

Kyle snorts. "Fine, jackass, pick your prize."

[doubled_speed]

Pick his prize, huh? Tommy almsot says 'a kiss'. Instead he shrugs.

"I win, you try teaching me Hebrew?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle grins. "Sure! I'll teach you everything I learned in school, heh. IF you win. Which you won't."

This is better. This is not as good as the world they'd left, but it was better than being mostly alone on a strange planet.

"If I win, I want, uhm... You gotta tell me a story."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, they weren't alone now, were they? Tommy had his brother, but now he had Kyle too. That was nice. But he considers it. A story, that works.

"Guess I've got a lot of heroic things I've done."