Tweak

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Tweak says, "This world has many flaws."

Noah (oilthewheels) wrote in commandhq,
@ 2018-05-17 18:33:00

Entry tags:

jp allen, noah anderson, p: mena, p: mj

Who: Noah Anderson & JP Allen
What: Two old friends catching up
When: Sometime after this
Where: Noah's room
Rating: TBD

Noah wasn't really messy, couldn't be messy as a marine, but his room was a little chaotic as inbetween working in the garage and helping out with the renovations he hadn't really spent enough time in it to really tidy up. Now that JP was coming over he'd made a concentrated effort to make sure it looked good enough for company.

He was worried, especially as he knew how close JP and Julian had been, and so he'd done what any good friend would do and that was to reach out and check in. As expected JP was bummed so Noah was both happy and relieved that JP still felt comfortable enough to reach out to him even if they hadn't figured out where they were at in their friendship.

The whole Noah being an employee of the Regiment which was holding JP was a huge wedge between them and it was sort of like the elephant in the room, the very same they were both doing an admirable job of ignoring it. Not that they could ignore it for much longer, they would definitely need to address it at some point.

Maybe not today though all things considered.

He picked a couple clothes off the floor and tossed them into a laundry basket before he scrubbed his hand through his red hair.

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oilthewheels
2018-05-22 06:37 pm UTC (link)

"My appetite doesn't hasn't changed," Noah replied with a chuckle. "If anything it just got worse the older I got." He missed those days, the ones when things were simpler and it was just two friends hanging out and enjoying a neat power.

He snorted and nudged JP right back, not even thinking that if they weren't careful it would escalate. Noah wasn't all that great at thinking ahead, more so now he was older but still not a strong suit of his. "Isn't the phrase, mixing business with pleasure?"

Noah took a sip of his beer. "But for record I have not done that, mix pleasure with business."

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hotbloodedone
2018-05-22 08:30 pm UTC (link)

JP laughed. "As if your appetite could get worse. I swear my mom's grocery bill doubled practically overnight when you hit like, twelve." He shook his head. "I swear the only reason you got us walkie-talkies in the first place was for me to sneak food to you even before my powers manifested."

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Noah's foot, nudging him once more, a little harder this time.

"Shut up," he muttered, knocking Noah's foot a second time before the guy even got a retaliatory kick in. "I knew what the phrase was. I just didn't wanna, y'know insinuate."

He arched his eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. "You haven't? Really? I'd have- I mean-"

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	oilthewheels 2018-05-24 07:50 pm UTC (link)
	"Not the only reason," Noah argued with a shake of his head. "It just happened to be an added bonus." He snorted as his foot was not knocked once but twice and he hadn't even had a chance to retaliate to the first one before the second one happened. He rolled the can between his hands and lifted his gaze to rest on JP. "You're would've what?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

hotbloodedone
2018-05-24 10:07 pm UTC (link)

"It was definitely your primary motivator," JP teased with a chuckle, because honestly, that walkie-talkie and those late night conversations had contributed to some of the best years of JP's life. He'd thought about that a lot when he'd been stuck in the youth facility alone, and even more when he graduated into the Regiment, still alone. Noah was really the only person in JP's life that had ever really... got him. Julian had managed too, but it was different, their friendship was just beginning.

He just felt... alone. And having Noah here, but not really here and not knowing where he stood wasn't helping that.

His eyes dropped to Noah's hands, watching him roll the can between them before they lifted feeling the weight of his friend's gaze on him.

"Mm? Oh- I, y'know, just figured you'd have-" he waved his free hand as he took a longer-than-necessary drink. "Mixed."

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oilthewheels
2018-05-26 03:19 pm UTC (link)

"Not gonna lie, thought about it but never did anything with it," Noah said with a shrug of his shoulders as he took another sip from his can. "Figured that was overstepping some sort of unspoken line and you figure I'm the one who can come and go as I like whereas the other person is just stuck. Would it even be based on something real or just because they're stuck in here?"

It was definitely a valid concern and one Noah had pondered on many occasion.

"But pretty sure I invited you over because I was worried about you so... how you doing?" And he lifted his gaze to rest on JP.

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hotbloodedone
2018-05-27 12:04 am UTC (link)

JP ignored the way his stomach twisted a little at the thought of Noah considering mixing business and pleasure. "Who was the lucky girl?" he asked, because that was the kind of stuff that friends shared. "And it's as real as you make it, surely? It's not like you're a handler, so you're not in a position of authority."

And if Noah hadn't changed all that much then honestly anyone would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend. Noah was one of the nicest people in existence, and anyone would be blessed to have him in their life, in whatever format that took.

"You didn't invite me over for me to quiz you about the last six years of your life?" he asked, eyebrow arching. "Shame, 'cause that's what I'm gonna do."

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oilthewheels
2018-05-27 05:38 pm UTC (link)

"It was another facility," Noah shared with a shrug. "A while back. Probably for the best considering I got transferred not too long after that. Clearly the universe was trying to tell me something."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Trust me, the last six years of my life are not all that exciting." Of course then he took a deep breath and figured to hell with it.

"What do you want to know?"

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hotbloodedone
2018-05-28 12:25 am UTC (link)

"That's some evasive shit right there," JP said, pointing at Noah with his can. "Fellow staff member or, y'know, agent? Was it a serious thing?"

He snorted, "They'll be more interesting than the last six years of my life," he pointed out. "After all, you have a near love story going on that you gotta tell me about first."

Sipping his beer, JP just lifted his shoulders. "I dunno, man, everything? I just-" Feel like I don't know you anymore. He wondered if Noah felt the same. "What made you wanna join the army? My parents' influence that weak on you, huh?"

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oilthewheels
2018-05-29 07:00 pm UTC (link)

"It was an Agentr," Noah shared. "But it was complicated. As in she was in an on and off thing with a guy she'd known since forever and I didn't really want to get stuck in the middle of that."

Plus he was certain the guy she was on and off again with was more than capable of killing people and wouldn't have hesitated with Noah.

He shook his head. "Nothing like that, more like I needed to get away from my folks and the army was the best way out of there as quickly as possible." Noah hadn't been able to look at his parents in the same way since they'd happily sold JP down the river.

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hotbloodedone
2018-05-29 08:55 pm UTC (link)

"Ugh, no you don't wanna get stuck in the middle of two people who can't work out what they are," JP said with a wrinkle of his nose. "But, I mean, if you felt like that about any of the agents here-" He knew Noah was social, making friends and probably more without even realising it as easily as he breathed. And JP knew it was that easy for him, but still he couldn't feel jealous about it, other than the fact that maybe Noah was settling in better here in a few months than JP had in years. "You deserve better than someone who can't commit."

He cleared his throat and nodded. He understood wanting to get away, but the military? Still, it was Noah's decision, and whatever he'd decided was the path that he'd followed.

"That bad that you needed to go out into an active war zone?" he asked, sipping his beer again, then just tipping his head back and finishing it in a few long swallows.

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oilthewheels
2018-05-31 07:52 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Noah shared with a small smile before he took a sip of his beer. "So yeah that's the not so exciting tale of my not so exciting love life."

He ducked his head as JP asked the question he did and there was the first flicker of tension in Noah's otherwise relaxed form. Yeah it had gotten bad, really bad. He'd been so angry, so hurt, and his parents just had't cared. Like at all. It didn't matter to them that they'd taken Noah's best friend away from him and more importantly away from his family. It had been a really messed up time and Noah had ended up spending more time with JP's parents than his own.

"Yeah," he finally said as he downed the rest of his beer. "It was that bad."

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hotbloodedone
2018-05-31 10:02 pm UTC (link)

"It's more exciting than anything that's happened to me in the relationship department in the last few years," JP answered honestly with a chuckle, his beer now empty he just dropped his eyes and rolled the can between his hands.

His hair flopped forward, obscuring his forehead and he glanced up through it, seeing the tension run through Noah's shoulders, and then across his face. Noah was still pretty bad at hiding his tells. JP frowned in concern.

"Shit," he muttered, reaching forward and touching Noah's hand, just for a moment, wanting to offer comfort but not sure if that was what he could do, or if they were even there again.

He just... he'd missed Noah so much.

"How'd you end up here?"

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oilthewheels
2018-06-01 07:45 pm UTC (link)

Noah's eyes drifted to JP's hand as it rested on his own briefly before he glanced up and gave him a grateful smile. It was no secret that Noah had always been a fairly tactile person so touch was and would always be important to him.

"That is a long story," he admitted with a rueful chuckle and a fairly embarrassing one considering the reason behind why he'd signed up in the first place. "It's-" He cleared his throat and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I got approached when I was in the marines, for my mechanical expertise or whatever."

He hadn't known at the time what it was. "Mostly my superiors didn't like the fact I was pro-super and figured my energies would be better directed somewhere else. The Regiment was their solution." Noah pushed a breath out. "And I figured it was a good opportunity, one that I'd be stupid to turn down, especially if it meant-"

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hotbloodedone
2018-06-01 11:04 pm UTC (link)

"If it meant what, Noah?" JP asked, realising belatedly that he hadn't taken his hand away, so he did that, folding his arms over the back of the chair and resting his chin on them. He was really trying not to jump to any weird conclusions, like Noah had been brainwashed by his parents into believing this kind of shit was the right thing, or that something in the military had meant that he wanted to try and be part of controlling the supers that were unlucky enough to get caught.

But this was Noah, and with the exception of a small group of handlers in the Everglades, JP hadn't come across anyone in the staff who really wanted to... do that. Most of them seemed to believe they were helping. Noah wasn't like that.

So why was he here? In a modern day concentration camp?

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oilthewheels
2018-06-03 10:26 am UTC (link)

Noah blew out a breath as he realised that it sounded really fucking stupid, that he'd been clinging to this hope that maybe one day he'd find JP again, but Noah was nothing if not loyal and dependable. JP had been his best friend for so many years that he wasn't just about to forget about him because he vanished age 18.

"That maybe one day I'd find you," he offered quietly, rather purposefully not lifting his head to make eye contact because yeah, awkward, and he had no idea how the other would react to the confession.

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hotbloodedone
2018-06-03 11:16 am UTC (link)

JP wasn't entirely sure what he'd been expecting Noah to say. 'Because he wanted to see behind the curtain', maybe, like this experience was just some bizarre bad trip, that they'd somehow fallen into Oz, and Noah was Dorothy, coming into shake things up.

That maybe one day I'd find you.

Whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that. While JP had thought about Noah every day - probably in a way that was exceptionally pathetic and sad - he hadn't assumed that the other guy would have done the same. After all, Noah had always been good with people. He had assumed that Noah would have just made new friends, thought occasionally about his childhood one and hopefully looked back on their time as neighbours with fond memories.

He didn't think that Noah would sign up to work for a black-ops site and sign his life away to working for the people who were behind this in the hope - the wild hope - that they might be reunited.

If circumstances had been different, JP might even have considered that a romantic thing to do for someone, but this was Noah. And Noah... Noah was Noah, legitimately the nicest man alive.

"Well," he said, reaching out and touching Noah's hand again. "That was one hell of a gamble." Though he knew this time that the touch wouldn't be enough, so without letting go he got to his feet and moved to sit on Noah's other side, settling so they were touching from shoulder to knee. "Looks like it paid off."

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oilthewheels
2018-06-03 08:03 pm UTC (link)

Noah snorted quietly as he turned his head to look at JP, nudging his shoulder affectionately. "Yeah, looks like." Good thing too as for a while he had been thinking that maybe he'd make a misstep and perhaps JP hadn't signed up to the Regiment.

"So, that's good at least."

Hopefully now JP would understand why Noah of all people would be signed up to the Regiment especially with how JP's parents had influenced his life.

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	hotbloodedone 2018-06-09 11:20 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah," JP agreed, nudging Noah again with a small smile. "That's good." And maybe, he thought, from here they could move on. Get back to where they were before and then... see where the future took them. "But now we're properly talking again, you gotta let me see plans for a tank." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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