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[This kid's kind of a pill. Wade kind of lets him blow off steam as he tags along behind him, and yet despite himself he can't help but feel a grin threatening to stretch his lips.]

Hey, you don't gotta explain yourself to me. You know how many times I've patched myself up over the years? I'm just sayin', you gotta wrap it up the right way if you expect it to not go all shit-shaped later on.

Approach it like you'd approach sex, y'know? Gotta wrap that shit up properly.

[He finally lets out a chuckle, crass and juvenile.]

W-what?

[He spits and stammers, turning a bright shade of red at the thought of something so vulgar. Not thinking straight, he continues blubbering-]

How am I supposed to know how I'd approach that? I haven't done anything like that just yet-

[And then, finally realizing what he's just admitted to the multiverse-]

AHHHHHHHHHH!

[If there are birds in this world... They'd be flying off the rooftops because of the noise.]

[Holy shit this kid's a spaz. Wade stops momentarily at that scream, taking a moment to make sure Simon isn't reacting to any wayward monsters before regarding him with an incredulous look on his face.]

...You doin' all right there, champ? You wanna keep headin' to my place or d'you wanna keep wallowing in your existential crisis or whatever the heck's going on?

Nothing about this place makes any sense!

[...That's not true.

It's just different.]

It's fine, I'm going.

[Simon goes as far as to hold himself with both arms now, snarling through gritted teeth.]

This better be the last time I get moved around!

[He wants more than anything to return to the Train. Grace and the Apex are waiting for him...

But as comfortable at that role may be, and as much as he enjoys having a Leader, a savior, and a best friend? He's never had the chance to wield this much power.

Simon has a feeling that this is his only shot at finally being the general he's always dreamed of. Anything is better than being a panicked, clumsy little kid.]

I am so done being left behind.

[Wade blinks at that; cocks his head quizzically, like a big puzzled dog wearing 80s cyberpunk clothing.]

...the hell does all that have to do with bein' a virgin?

[This some kinda weird generational thing he doesn't know about or something?]

[He gets flustered at the mention of that word.]

A-ah, n-no! I-

[Simon hates that he has had to explain himself so many times in this place. Still, Wade has actually been a fairly good listener, and for that the teen will provide an explanation.]

I didn't have to think about this kinda stuff before. Or, well, I guess I've thought about it, erg-

[He is turning red. A finger reaches for a stray tuft of blond hair to tuck behind his ear, but oh would you look at that- It touches air.

Right, new arrival thing.]

But it didn't matter. Like, there was just more important stuff to do, like makin' sure that our supply of rations wasn't running low, or fixing the gear that was broken so...

[Simon blinks.]

So that if we ever faced a threat we... Wouldn't be in as much danger.

[Wade crosses his arms over his chest; rolls his weight to one hip.]

And... because you don't gotta think about that stuff anymore, this place doesn't make any sense?

[He supposes it's not as confusing as it seems to be-- he doesn't know what type of environment this kid's used to, but he's been getting several context clues that it wasn't just high school and video games and trying out for the swim team. Something about the words Simon's been using-- "rations" and "gear" and "threat"-- make him think back to his military days.

And you always heard stories of soldiers who came back from war and couldn't handle everyday life, right? Something about the normalcy, of having to turn off that part of your brain that told you to be careful or you would die. Going into a grocery store and only having to think about what ingredients to get for dinner, not the safest place to take cover if the whole place got suddenly bombed. He can't say for certain that's what Simon's going through right now, but there's enough clues to be somewhat suspicious.

He shrugs.]

None of my business, in any case. Let's get goin', yeah? You're probably gettin' hungry. I know I am.

No, I do! Of course I do. Just because I'm in a new place doesn't mean I'm not gonna think about all this stuff-

[Because no matter where he is or who he's with survival is never truly guaranteed.

Simon stops himself when Wade is wise enough to redirect the conversation. The boy is childish, sure, immature even, however, he understands that Wade is doing this to placate him. He holds his bitterness within his chest, despising the fact that he is being treated like a baby, but he needs food and shelter.

His ego will just have to wait.]

Okay.

[Then, after far too long of a silence-]

Thank you.

Hey, no problem. I know I get super hangry when I haven't eaten in a while, yeah?

[Best to just keep the kid's attention on food, at least for now. He's obviously got a lot on his mind and probably very little in his stomach, and Wade knows from experience that that isn't exactly conducive to a jovial mood. It doesn't take them long to get to Wade and Nate's apartment, and Wade wastes no time unlocking the door, opening it with flourish.]

After you. Sorry about the mess.

[There isn't much of a mess-- living with a roommate kind of curtailed Wade's innate tendency to be a slob-- but the place definitely has a sort of lived-in look.]

[Simon, though fairly particular about his own living space, isn't the most judgmental when it comes to the abodes of others. After all, he spends most his time in a rundown, overly graffitied mall car.

After making his way through the door, Simon is visited by a wash of long forgotten feelings. While his room on the Train has been perfectly outfitted with everything he loves to be surrounded by, this space is markedly different. There's a kitchen and several shoes, a coat rack near the door, and many items strewn about to and fro that give the apartment character.

For a brief moment in time, Simon remembers being much smaller and hearing the door close behind him in a similar way after coming home from school. A woman's voice calls out to him-

No.

No. There was nothing good about that place or that time. He had forgotten all about it.]

You're good.

[Uttered softly.]

[If Wade heard Simon's reply at all, he doesn't show it. Instead he busies himself with shrugging off his work shirt, revealing a black wifebeater underneath. He makes as if to toss it on the nearest kitchen chair, but then, as if suddenly remembering he has a guest, merely folds it over one arm.]

'ey, so I'mma go take a leak and then start some dinner. Make yourself comfortable, okay? Watch some TV or somethin'. Mi casa es su casa.

[...Television.

Wow, it's been so long. He hasn't seen one of these in ages, literal years. Quietly, he sets his sack of things down on the ground besides him and sits, falling onto the cushions like a sack of potatoes. Simon picks up the remote and turns on the little black box, although the pictures that dance inside it don't really occur to him.

Is this home, now? Is this place supposed to be home?

This city, and these people...

He doesn't know.]

[inbox] - meadowlark

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