Debut - OTA

[tech_geek]

Boredom and Jake Jensen didn't mix well. Kinda like nitrogen triiodide and an unsteady hand--Big fucking boom. As a kid it had gotten him into a lot of trouble. As an adult? Pretty much the exact same thing. Boredom was what had made his eight-year-old self build a parabolic antenna/radio out of kitchen appliances to contact aliens with, his ten-year-old self dig up his backyard in search of dinosaur bones, and his sixteen-year-old-self hack the FBI database. Boredom was what had deconstructed a missile just to see what made it tick, had changed Cougar’s records to say he’d had all his training at a secret Jedi stronghold, and had taken apart a General’s car for the spare parts needed to make a high-powered laser death ray. And that was just to name a few things.

Jensen was someone who always needed to be doing something, so it didn’t take much for boredom to kick in. All it took was a spare minute or two where he was alone with nothing to do. He’d get twitchy, restless. The ideas would start coming and then one of them would stick. It would nag and tempt. He’d know it wasn’t something he should be doing. He’d know the idea could get him into trouble, but the lure of it, the promise of figuring out how something worked, of creating something, of taking something broken and making it whole again, of accomplishing something instead of being such a monumental fuck-up would be too much to say no to. So he wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, right now, Jensen was at work. Most days it wasn’t so bad. The coffee shop usually had a steady flow of customers, so it was difficult to get well and truly bored. But today was a slow day. Maybe it was the weather, the rain was coming down so hard it looked like a sheet of water, or maybe it was just shit luck. He supposed he shouldn’t complain. Of all the places he could be, London wasn’t the worst. He could have ended up ass-deep in the Hindu Kush without an internet connection--Now that would have sucked.

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[tech_geek]

“Nah, I figured I’d just let you drip everywhere until the hyperthermia set in,” Jensen replied, they dryness of his tone contrasted sharply by an ear-to-ear smart-ass grin.

Digging out his keys, Jensen opened the door and held it, waiting for Shaun to go first before following him into the hallway. It was dimly lit and leaned just short of being decrepit with the well-worn look of something that was old and falling apart, but being taken care of. He led Shaun down it a short ways, “Look out for that stack of newspapers,” and eventually stopped in front of another door. Unlocking it, he pushed it open.

“Welcome to my humble abode.”

The kitchen lay just beyond the door. The table was small and round, its uneven legs made steady by a thick book. A set of mismatched chairs sat around it. The appliances were varying degrees of old, though the majority looked like they had seen their glory days in the 70s. To the left was the bedroom/living room. A television sat on a small stand across from a battered, black sofa and tucked in the corner was a scratched up computer desk. The laptop that sat on it looked relatively new and was hooked up to a second monitor that was old, but in decent condition. A mattress on the floor served as a bed. Beyond the bedroom/living room was the bathroom.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll grab you a towel.”

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"Thanks." Shaun gripped his cane tight as he moved to the dining room table, sore, but not wanting to drip on his couch. He glanced around, rubbing the back of his neck- it wasn't completely unlike his, in that temporary and furnished from scratch from thrift stores sort of way. It looked comfortable though, and he smiled at the computer set up, remembering how Jensen had treated his laptop like his baby when they were on mission.

[tech_geek]

Jensen came back from the bathroom carrying a towel. His hat and jacket were gone, hair and clothing damp from where the rain had soaked through. “That’s comfortable?” he asked with a laugh and then gestured for Shaun to come over. “Come on, dude, sit on the couch.” He dropped down onto the couch himself, draping the towel over a knee, and bent over to untie his Chucks.

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"I didn't want to drip on your shit," Shaun said, laughing through a groan as he pulled himself up again, limping over without his cane to the couch. He collapsed down with a cough, snagging the towel and starting to dry his hair, hanging it around his neck as he wiggled out of his jacket. "Thanks."

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“No problem.” Jensen dropped his sneakers, his socks stuffed into them, on the floor beside the couch. He sank back into his seat with a sigh and then looked over at Shaun, grinning at him, “So, you ready to stop looking like I’m going to garrote you?”

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Shaun laughed, a real, hard laugh that had him ought just a little at the end. "Dude, I'm sorry, but this is just. This is way too much of a fucking coincidence, okay? I have a few self preservation instincts, whatever my sister says."

Finally relaxing, a weight feeling lifted now that they acknowledged that elephant, he sagged back into the couch. Surprisingly comfy, for all that it looked like a piece of shit, but wasn't that always the way? "So, you're not dead. Did you hear that I'm supposed to be dead?" He hoped not. It sucked to hear that someone you were friendly with kicked it.

[tech_geek]

Okay, that was too fucking weird and now Jensen was the suspicious one. Running into Shaun had been weird enough of a coincidence to begin with, but Shaun was a good guy and everything else pointed to him being on the up and up, so he’d let that weirdness slide. But this was just fucking beyond. On the other hand, oh, look, we’re both fake dead! Let’s eat s’mores and bond over it! would be a shit cover story.
 
“I haven’t heard much of anything, given that I’ve been dead and all.” A crooked grin, “Kinda disconnects you from reality. Sorry to hear it though.” ‘Cause he was if it was true. “What happened?”

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"I had the dumbass idea to be a reporter," Shaun said with a laugh.

He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at it, and when he spoke again, his voice was serious. "We stumbled into a whole pile of shit. We got closed to cover a candidate for senate? It was supposed to be fucking simple, boost our fucking resumes." He paused, thinking over what he could say, what was safe. Or, well, safe enough. "We stumbled into a fucking conspiracy. You remember I told you about Buffy? She really is dead, becuase they fucking killed her." He spat the words out, her name still felt bitter in his mouth, both for her betrayal, and the fact that he couldn't even hate her for it. He wanted to hate her,but instead, all he could think of that despite everything, she hadn't deserved this.

He scrubbed hand over his face and shrugged, sighing. "They poisoned me. Shot me with a dart full of tetrodotoxin. With my reputation for dumbassery, I guess no one would question if I went eating a fucking puffer fish." He huffed out a laugh, and shrugged. "But that's why I'm all fucked up."

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Jensen’s eyebrows jumped. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it definitely hadn’t been that. How many fucking conspiracies were there? “Holy shit, dude. Holy. Shit.” He shook his head and the corner of his mouth tugged with a smile. “I want to say I’m surprised you found your way into some serious shit, but, well, you’re you and only someone who can make that vein in Clay’s neck pop can find their way into serious shit like that.”

“I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry about, Buffy, and,” Jensen gestured at Shaun, “everything. Shit. Are you alright?”

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"Yeah,just peachy," he said, laughing, because sarcasm made everything so much less uncomfortable. This was way too fucking candid of a conversation to have sober. Or ever. "Uh, thanks? And yeah, I guess. Just...pissed I'm too sad to be pissed, I guess. She was working for them. I mean, granted, she thought they were just the opposition, and not the goddamn Devil's taint incarnet, but, you know. Backstabbing is backstabbing, I guess."

He let out a cough, wincing at the pain it brought, and furrowed his brow. "Unless you meant me, which, yeah, I'm fine, dude. Nothing a little time and physical therapy can't solve."

[tech_geek]

“I meant both.” Jensen waved a hand to indict allll of Shaun, “Your general state of alrightness.” He pushed himself up to go get Shaun a glass of water to help with that cough and shook his head, chuckling quietly in amusement, “Devil’s taint incarnate.”
 
Jensen’s heart hurt for Shaun. The dude had been dragged through hell and back more than once over. He’d been betrayed by people he’d trusted, lost someone he cared about, and nearly died himself in a way that left him hurting every second of every fucking day. The poor dude could not catch a break and he didn’t deserve that. Grabbing a bottle water from the fridge, he glanced over his shoulder at Shaun, “You hungry?”

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Shaun grinned when Jensen laughed at his little nickname. "You liked that, huh? I've been told I have a gift with words."

He considered for a moment, then nodding. "Yeah, man, some food sounds great. If it's not too much trouble."

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Jensen grabbed the Chinese menu off the fridge, bringing it over with the bottled water. “How does Chinese sound?” he asked and offered both the menu and the drink out to Shaun. “We can do pizza if you’re not feeling Chinese.”

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"No, Chinese is great, dude." He took both, cracking the top and taking a sip before beginning to peruse the menu. "What do you like?"

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Jensen laughed, “Uh, all of it?” He sat down next to Shaun. “Seriously, dude, pick whatever you like and I’ll be happy. I’ll eat just about anything.” He leaned in to look at the menu over Shaun’s shoulder. “The potstickers are fucking amazing though, so we’re definitely, like, two orders of those. Trust me.”

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Shaun perused the menu for a few moments, tensing for a moment when Jensen got in his space but making himself relax again, then shrugged. "Sesame chicken and broccoli, with some noodles or fried rice? That sound good?"

[tech_geek]

“Sounds great.” Jensen pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the Chinese food place on speed dial. He placed their order, getting both noodles and fried rice because why the hell not, and then hung up. “Should be here in a half hour.”

Jensen took the menu back from Shaun and started for the fridge, “You want a beer?”