That made him grin. Elliot had absolutely no qualms about showing off his ink, especially to Rae. He'd show her, someday. Maybe when she sat down to have her own tattoo worked on. Life had so few spontaneous joys anymore. A lot of people would've argued that a tattoo wasn't necessary, but to Elliot it was. It was a reminder that they were still alive and capable of self expression. "You know what they say about waiting being half the fun," he mused, catching the soda in both hands.
Rae had a point. If they even managed to locate a tattoo artist, who was to say that person would even be interested in exercising their craft, when so many other tasks held more importance? Elliot sipped thoughtfully at his soda, Pop Rocks dancing excitedly on his tongue. For all the things Rae had done for him, he felt like he owed her something in return. She'd saved his life, and his sanity, on several occasions.
It felt good talking about his brother with someone else who shared Elliot's belief that David was still alive. Others who had heard of his cause had looked at him with sympathy, as if he were letting his delusions carry him away. They didn't believe someone with so few survival skills could last so long on his own. Rae didn't see it as hopeless, though, and for that Elliot was grateful.
"That's just what we need for our reunion," he chuckled. "Get David drunk, make him entertain us. Like old times."
"The stripper with the weird knees. That must've been a challenge for you to find appropriate costumes to hide such a deformity. Because I'm sure that's what every guy was taking notice of. The knees." It was fun giving her a hard time over her former occupation. Fun and easy, as well, considering he still had a hard time seeing Rae as a stripper.
Elliot watched as she slid off the table and approached him, unable to muster up much of a smile. That is, up until she proclaimed it was time to head to Liberty Island. "I've waited four years, I think I can handle waiting another two weeks," he replied, returning her smile. Of course, those two weeks would be akin to how it was when he was a boy waiting for Christmas to arrive, but it was always worth it. Seeing David again would be worth it.
Hearing about Rae's past Halloweens made Elliot chuckle. He could only imagine what sort of creative costumes Rae had worn at her job. Something that got her pawed at, for sure. Elliot sprinkled more Pop Rocks on his tongue to hide the spark of jealousy, and he morphed his expression into one of genuine interest when she recounted the humorous story of her friend dressing as Bloody Mary. Elliot laughed. "Pranks are one of the best things about Halloween. Even if they are painful." He smirked.