InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "uh?"

Harvey Caldwell (harvey_caldwell) wrote in jh_corporation,
@ 2008-03-05 20:24:00

Welcome Home (Max, Cassandra)
He took his last drag before flicking the cigarette to the side. He was standing outside of his apartment, a big bag of Purina Dog Chow at his feet. Harvey picked it up and walked a few feet, before making it to another door and dropping it. He pulled his keys from the pocket of grey cargo pants, the jingling making him sound like Santa Claus as he singled out the correct key. He could already hear sniffing at the door, with small whines of anxiety as he turned the key. Cracking the door, he picked up the dog food and slid inside, keeping Spunk from getting out. As soon as he was inside the dog jumped up on him, causing him to grunt. "Come on, buddy. Let's go," he said sternly, not really into the whole dog thing. He wasn't mean enough to kick him off, but he wasn't the type to make out with the mutt either.

Spunk hopped off and immediately disappeared further into the apartment, allowing Harvey room to walk around. He lugged the bag into the kitchen where the dog was patiently waiting, its tail wagging as it whimpered with excitement. He dropped to his knee and began pouring the kibble, the dog not bothering to wait before he started digging in. It was kind of irritating, but Harvey wasn't really a dog lover and he didn't know to move the bowl out of reach before filling it up. Didn't matter much-- if Spunk wanted kibble all over his nose, that was his prerogative. Once it was full enough he pulled it back, rolling the bag's top up and standing up. "There ya go." He was a cool dog, he guessed. Hyper little mutt with a good heart and didn't seem like he'd hurt anybody. Which was good, because Harvey wasn't afraid to kick a dog.

His eyes fell onto the apartment, a hand moving to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He felt like he should do something, but the place was clean. If it hadn't been so empty and unoccupied he'd say it was Martha Stuart clean. Not that he thought Max was gay or anything. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been good friends, and he wouldn't be coming over here every day to feed his dog. He could hear Spunk slopping and slurping up the bowl, having eaten it all in record time. "Jesus, where'd he pick you up from-- Ethiopia?" Harvey asked, wondering if he should refill it. "Where's your 'um of a boner anyway?" He asked, immediately laughing at himself and the fact that the dog's name was "Spunk." He'd meant to say "bum of an owner," but the dog didn't seem to notice.

It really wasn't that big of an inconvenience to feed him, but he was a little concerned about Max. He'd only seen him that one day in the hospital, and he seemed alright then. Harvey was beginning to wonder if something went wrong. The dog came up to his feet, sniffing them. "What, you gonna eat me now?" He asked, causing the dog to look up with a goofy grin. It picked up a nearby chew toy, holding it up with high hopes. Harvey looked down at him, raising his brows. "I'm good, thanks." He moved past the dog with the bag, stepping back into the kitchen and pouring a little more. Just for evidence.

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guarding
2008-03-06 06:48 am UTC (link)

There was the sound of keys jingling at the door, the sound of a key being inserted and turned, then the sound of a curse as the man turning the keys realized the door was already open. Spunk fell into a state of excited barking and sounded like he was just about to pee himself silly, which he apparently did a good job of holding in. He turned in circles at the door and when it was open nearly tackled Max who put his arms up in a defense motion to keep the slobber off his face. He could not very well even pet the dog with the way it was jumping up at him. "Alright, I see you, your breath smells like kibble, and I certainly do not want to smell like kibble." He argued with the dog, trying to pet him and calm him down.

Except Spunk was like the energizer bunny, he never stopped going once he was excited. Max could not help but smile at the dumb brown mutt even as he lifted his gaze up to the man that stood inside his well cleaned apartment. The military had taught him a thing or two about organization, drilled it into his head, such a habit for him to keep everything clean. It gave something for his hands to do which always seemed to be itching these days.

"You aren't feeding my dog crack, are you Harvey?" He asked jokingly, lifting a hand to scracth the back of his head and stretch slightly. There was that one visit to the hospital, but Max ended up being detained longer than he expected to be.

Spunk ran up to Harvey, defied the force of gravity with a jump and a bark, before running back over to Max and repeating the same thing. As if making sure that both men realized his presence and each other's. "Thanks again, for taking care of him."

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harvey_caldwell
2008-03-06 05:45 pm UTC (link)

Both Harvey and Spunk looked up and over at the door, though Harvey wasn't bounding for the door. He wondered if that dog had ever accidentally ran into an opening door, and smirked at the idea. He was a little irritated with all the barking the dog was doing-- was that really necessary? Luckily the building allowed pets. He watched as the two reunited, rolling his eyes and dropping the kibble on the floor. He leaned against the kitchen doorway, folding his arms. "Are you two lovebirds done over there?" He asked teasingly. Max couldn't hear him-- the damned dog had the floor now. But it was good to see Max was alright. For a second there he thought he was about to inherit an XBox. Oh well.

He cracked a grin at Max's accusation. "You know it," he replied. He looked down as the dog ran at him, before sprinting back to Max. Yeah yeah, it was cute. Whatever. Dogs were so oblivious. He shook his head. "No problem man. What happened, did they cut your left testicle off or what?" He joked. A yawn overpowered him and he brought his arms up high, fingers grasping at the air as he stretched. It wasn't extremely early, though Harvey didn't know what time it was. When you worked the night shift it kind of put you and everyone else in the world on a different playing field. While the majority of the population was already up and winding down for the day, he was just waking up.

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guarding
2008-03-08 04:48 am UTC (link)

In his will he had said he wished for his XBox and all the games that went with it to be burried with him. At least that was what he informed Harvey, some night, while playing yet another war video game, drinking beer. Spunk stopped jumping for a moment and went to attack his rear-end with sharp teeth. Max eyed the dog with an affectionate smile.

"No." He scratched at the palm of his hands. "The doctors wanted to keep me around there a bit longer, to make sure my arms and legs were working right and were not damaged." That would be bad, if his arms and legs decided to get minds of their own and run off from his body. In fact, he had a nightmare about that once, but he shook off those over-active thoughts as he gave Harvey one of those grins that just said he was proud of something he did.

"And Mister JH Corporation himself gave me a new job." Then his face fell just a bit, as he thought of that job. "And I don't know quite how to handle it." Because he could not very well tell Harvey that the girls at JH Corporation were in the process of teasing him. Or at least Holly was. That would be unmanly and hint more to the fact that he just might be gay. The reality just being he was not quite sure how to stand up to woman.

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harvey_caldwell
2008-03-09 05:18 am UTC (link)

While Max was making googley eyes, Harvey stared with mild fascination as the dog began urgently chopping away at it's own ass. He began thinking on a tangent. Dogs were wolves. At least, they should have been. Instead they were neutered, made into "well" mannered, goofy caricatures of the real deal. Even with the same flesh-tearing, mouthful of jagged teeth, they primarily used them for ripping kibble to pieces and chomping on fleas. Come to think of it, Max was a dog... Metaphorically speaking. He continued to observe Spunk, and had someone been observing Harvey he appeared to be spacing out. But his train of thought derailed, and he was now contemplating a trip to the bar.

The word "No," penetrated his thoughts, cutting them off and forcing him to drag his gaze away from the animal with a slow nod. But the words became more and more clear, and by the end of the statement he figured he'd gotten the gist of what happened-- though missing the first part. From what he did hear, it wasn't as big of a deal as it could've been. The cheeky grin piqued Harvey's curiosity, and he gave Max his full attention. The announcement made his eyebrows raise. "Hey, congrats," he offered with surprise. But Max didn't seem as thrilled. Harvey had thought to chime in about his own promotion, but his friend's dissatisfaction for the new position was more appealing, and didn't require as much work on his own behalf.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and once more posted up against the doorway with his shoulder. He would've sat down by now, but Harvey was feeling a bit anxious. He wanted to get out, go to a bar or something, but he wasn't sure Max was up for it. So while he steered the conversation elsewhere, he was mentally reminding himself to bring that up-- once it became relevant again.

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guarding
2008-03-10 10:45 pm UTC (link)

It could have been a big deal, of course, Max's own well-being was generally thought of last. He was trained to sacrafice himself for his country and before that he believed in sacrafice for his family... It was not like the world would really miss his own goofy-face, but his thoughts generally did not dwell there with the dark emotional kids that spent most of their time slitting their wrists.

Max had the sudden urge to fall into a bow after Harvey's words, but refrained from such a gesture, instead moving towards his refridgerator. "You didn't drink all the beer while I was gone, did ya?" He inquired as he stuck his head inside, closing the door to his apartment behind him. Spunk felt it was his job to follow after Max, just in case his owner decided to up and vanish again.

He was up to going out for a drink, especially because he appeared to want one now. Generally he could not sit for long periods of time or his leg started to bounce up and down, annoying those around him. "Well, Mister John decided to make me his daughter's bodyguard." The words were spoken as he brought out the only bottle of beer he had left in his fridge and looked at it with a depressing sigh. "And I think the girl is mad. First day watching her and she wants me to take her some place 'naughty'."

Likely Harvey could imagine the horror of such a thing with Max. After all he had witnessed Max in the action of trying to talk to any girl at a bar, which usually ended with the young man turning bright red as his cheeks were pinched, because he was just oh-so cute.

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harvey_caldwell
2008-03-11 05:56 am UTC (link)

Harvey turned his body sideways, stepping aside to let Max in the kitchen. "Oops." He mused with a deviant grin. OK, maybe he had one or two. The idea was to replace them before Max came home, but it kind of slipped his mind. He moved out of the way and back into the living room, standing there like an out of place statue. He lift his head at the next statement; It kind of put Harvey off, every time he referred to their boss as "Mister." It was... kind of fruity. But they'd known each other long enough for Harvey to know that Max was just a little weird, and not a raging homo that had the hots for John. Sure, there'd been times where he had serious doubts, but by now he was used to it. That was just Max-- peculiar. But it was still kind of funny.

"I wonder if she's hot," he thought to himself, completely oblivious to the fact that he'd already met Ms. Evans. His grin spread wide and a hint of mischief twinkled in his eye. "Some place naughty?" Really? He had to admit, he was a little jealous now. How did so many misplaced opportunities fall into his friend's lap? "Sounds like a real firecracker," he added, watching Max in the kitchen. "So what's up? You like her?" He asked, very interested now, audibly so. What he was really asking was "are you going to sleep with her," but Max hadn't quite hit puberty yet so he had to put it in simple terms.

"You should fo gor it," he advised. "And you know what else? We should... (blank. He snapped his fingers trying to grasp the word.) We should check out that bar. Celebrate success," he said casually, tossing it out there. Have a drink. Maybe meet some girls. Get Max laid for the first time in years. A brief, soft snicker escaped him. Max was a good guy, he deserved it. He never teased Harvey about his slip ups; he was one of the few people he felt comfortable around. Harvey felt like he owed him.

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guarding
2008-03-12 02:07 am UTC (link)

He could not help it, he either had to be polite and gay with calling John 'Mister' or he might slip up and call him a few choice words. Max did a wonderful job of hiding how much he hated the JH Corporation, even from Harvey. After all, he was too mild-mannered to actually hate anyone. Unless of course anyone ever saw him in action of actually fighting, then it was a complete switch, from easy going to psycho.

"Yeah. Of course I think if I took her to any strip club she would likely faint or slap me." He could never tell with women though. Some liked that sort of thing, some would slap him upside the head. Max had still not managed to figure out Holly. "Likely the later." Even though there was just one bottle he still opened, still took a swig, and made a face. "I think I know why you left this one in there."

Max decided to avoid the question of if he liked Holly or not. "Any success on your end, then?" Yeah, the beer was aweful. He glanced at Spunk, who enjoyed beer, and decided he would not even give his dog any of this. Instead he just sat it down on the counter and nodded his head to Harvey's suggestion. "At least get a decent beer there. And a shot or two. I haven't had a drink in so long it feels like."

Doctors would not let him drink while he was under watch and under their care. Antibiotics and other things like that. He was not an alcoholic, but he was an Army-Boy, he could hold his liquor and he could drink.

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harvey_caldwell
2008-03-12 03:54 am UTC (link)

Max in action-- now that would be something Harvey would pay to see. The most "action" Harvey had seen Max in (or get for that matter) was currently licking its own ball-sack. And while he was sure he'd gotten into plenty of hijenks while in the army, it just didn't seem like something he would've fit into. Now Harvey, he was at least honest with himself. Fuck the government and fuck signing away his life to them. Playing security guard for John was close enough, and even that was pushing it. But everyone had their reasons. Max hadn't been quite that intimate with Harvey as of yet. Either that or Harvey hadn't been listening. It didn't really matter.

He gave his friend a weird look, as if a Pepe Le Peu had just graced their presence and a record skipped simultaneously. "Strip Club?" He laughed, shaking his head. Boy was Max clueless. True, some girls wanted to go to strip clubs. But that was usually once they had attained girlfriend status-- I.E. the I'll-try-anything-once-because-I-want-you-to-love-me-back status. But until then, women didn't want to see you looking at other naked women, especially in their presence. He rubbed his face with amusement, letting out that sigh that usually follows a good laugh. "I was thinking more like your bedroom, Steinein." Or Einstein. He knew what he meant!

The question thrown his way was by no means a disturbance. "Emma's in heat," he announced with a smirk. Emma was the woman he'd been telling Max about, the one upstairs with the leaky faucet... And the broken light bulb.... And the missing bolt... And the loose doorknob. Anything and everything she could think of, and his phone was ringing. Not that he was complaining. But Christ. "I'm gonna have to change my number soon," he thought aloud. He thought about mentioning the girl he'd met the other day, but she wasn't a complete shocker and he didn't want to go on and on about it. The idea was to get Max in on the action, not gloat about his own. So he made his way to the door.

"Let me just take a quick shower and change," he offered, opening the door. "And we'll head over, OK?" With that he slipped outside, and closed the door behind him.

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	harvey_caldwell 2008-03-12 03:58 am UTC (link)
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sassycassy
2008-03-13 02:01 am UTC (link)

Cassandra wasn't usually one for bars, but who could argue a phone call with four already semi-toasted late-twenty-somethings screeching and giggling in the background, begging her to come out and play. At the very least, the idea of a beer or two shot her fancy and almost immediately after returning home from work, she fed Sammy and stripped out of her work clothes, departing in a brand new set of attire. The "skirt even remotely near the knees" rule didn't apply when having a girl's night out, and she'd dressed herself for fun rather than function in a cute little black number she'd kept hidden close to the back of her closet. It reminded her that there was life beyond work, and men other than John, who weren't gay, annoyingly stuck in their mom's pantyhose, or clinging to much to their ego.

Her appearance had instantly been met with a chorus of cheers as three pairs of arms all grabbed a piece of her, some more steadily than others, and dragged her to a table. The array of empty shot glasses certainly wasn't helping their situation, though Cassandra was fairly certain at least Courtney and Marie had been near drunk even before she'd arrived. The blond herself was working on her second helping of Jack Daniels, her manicured fingertip dancing around the damp edge of the shot glass as she crossed one leg over the other, shaking her head at the antics spiraling around the table that reminded her why she had friends to begin with. Luckily, the bar itself was loud enough to drown out their chatter beyond the table's edge.

"Some men just go through their lives with that whole 'second mommy' fetish... Well, at least he got what he deserved." Marie, the bob-haired brunette sitting across from her giggled at the end of a very long and involved story the Tessa had just finished about an ex from "way back when".

"Repossessed and happily committed from what I've heard. Some involving PTSD. I think it was a side effect from kicking him in the proverbial balls one too many times." Cassandra chimed in almost gleefully, grinning like the Cheshire cat at the memory of said numskull. After a second, she managed to look thoughtful, poking her finger at her lower lip.

"Could have been the actual kick in the balls." Tessa chimed in brightly before taking a deep gulp from the glass in front of her, hissing a little at the burn and grimacing a little. "Oh god. No more vodka..."

"It could have been all that period talk you do. I mean, some guys find that seriously offensive." Courtney sighed thoughtfully, dropping her chin onto her upraised hand before Marie countered with a snarky scoff, obviously showing her lightweight demeanor in the drinking category despite the fact that she'd been nursing wine coolers for most of the evening. "I find that seriously offensive."

"Right now your breath is seriously offensive." Courtney retorted with a bright laugh, shaking her head. "Tell me someone's packing? Jesus Christ, lay off the beer."

"She's married, what does she care?" Cassandra sighed and laughed to herself, tugging her hair over one shoulder to glance down at her purse, leaning in to rummage for a brief second before pulling out the tiny container of breath mints she'd learned to carry with her early on in her nights with the girls. "Chow down, kiddo."

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harvey_caldwell
2008-03-19 01:57 am UTC (link)

Harvey entered the building, his eyes surveying the crowd as he casually walked toward the bar. He was sure Max was just behind him, and didn't bother checking until he was seated. Light music could be heard-- deep, bubbly lounge house that people in their 30s seemed to love. He wasn't a particular fan. With the bartender far down the row and working hard for his money, Harvey turned in his stool to watch the crowd; He wasn't here for the music. If he were there for the music he would've been in sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt, but tonight he was dressed to impress.

Glancing to his left, he watched as Max sat down, slightly turning his way. "Nice..." he said, looking back to everyone else. It was about 50/50 tonight, which was an unusual godsend, and 50% of that 50% were definite lookers... A redhead across the way caught his eye, the edge of her margarita teasingly lingering against her lips before she tore her gaze away and back to the dude that was chatting her up. He smiled, watching her for a moment as she struggled with her attention span, before turning back to Max.

"If you don't get action tonight, you're officially gay," and with that his palm smacked down on the counter top, solidifying his creed. He accepted no excuses. He looked up for the bartender, flagging him down. The energy Harvey gave off was a sign he hadn't really been out since Max had been hospitalized.

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