Isaac Callahan (carrotandstick) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-01-17 18:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [01] january, calvin davidson, isaac callahan |
Who: Isaac and Cal
Where: Cal's room
What: Bros catching up and stuff
When: January 4th, breakfast
“It’s weird, how we live in the same damn building but can go days and weeks without seeing each other. Are you sure you actually live here, man?” Cal was certainly one to talk, with his long supply trips out of Austin and his recent visit to Richland, but bullshit was a steady staple with this man and Isaac knew it. When the sergeant looked down at his breakfast, he tried not to wince too visibly at the sight of once-powdered eggs and batter that someone had tried to fry into the shape of a pancake. He already missed the rustic, non-canned, non-powdered food from his family farm. At least there was real milk. At least Willa’s cows had survived his time away, and the water drought the city had just experienced. “Happy new year, and here’s to our thousandth vaguely egg-related substance.” Cal stabbed another bite with his fork. “Well considering the only time I can really fit you in my schedule is for breakfast, that might have something to do with it,” Isaac said, stabbing at his own eggs and chewing a bite. It was a bit of a lie, since the only reason Isaac was at work so much was to avoid spending too much time at home with Demi. Things between them weren’t exactly glacial but the house arrest hadn’t been kind to their relationship. “But you know, dude, you should be flattered because this is like the date you have with the girl you really like. I could have taken you out to dinner, got a bottle of wine in you, and cashed in on the romance of candlelight. But instead, we’re both stone sober and I’m actually listening to what you’re saying.” Shoveling another bite into his mouth, he grinned. “Perspective, my friend.” Cal laughed. It was easy to fall into this groove with Isaac, even with all the tension in their lives, even with long weeks stretching between hangouts (one thing the post-apocalypse didn’t have a lot of, and that was luxury). There was a jaunty ease to their dynamic that he couldn’t get everywhere else. Not anymore. “Glad to know our relationship passes the dead-eyed sober test,” the soldier said. “Although personally, I prefer the morning-after breakfast: sober, ravenous, wolfing down food to recover after a good workout and a bottomless hangover. Still, it’s nice to see you without the headache.” Isaac snorted. “Workout, huh? Think an awful lot of your abilities in the bedroom, don’t you?” Not that Isaac had ever thought about these things… except when he totally had because apparently Cal and Demi had been on a few dates before and he really had no idea what happened on or after said dates. And it was probably for the best that he didn’t know. Fucked as things were with Demi, he still wanted to believe that the woman he loved (despite all the fucking odds) would prefer him over his friends. “So what’s going on with you man?” He asked, scooping more eggs into his mouth. Cal mulled over the question over his glass of water. (No coffee today; it was rare enough, and not every breakfast merited it.) “Just got back from the closest thing you could call a real vacation,” Cal started. “Spent Christmas and New Years with my sister back on the farm, and I’m already regrettin’ coming back here. Is it true Austin had snow? Snow that was trying to kill you, even?” He shook his head. “It was some… valuable time, I guess, getting away from all this and getting my head on straight. Less complications out there. City-life’s never been a walk in the park, and it ain’t any better now. How’re you and Demi doing?” It was an easy question for Cal to ask, unaware of the tension from the other man about the subject; Cal had never been quite as wound-up about it. (Perhaps because he knew just how little a threat he represented—not a comfort allotted to Isaac.) Isaac would have been happy to discuss the ash snow for the duration of the meal but of course the inevitable question about Demi came much sooner than he was prepared for. “More like skin melting ash,” he commented between bites, stalling for time, before saying, “We’re… fine. Pretty confused about it all, to be honest.” Watching Star Wars on Demi’s birthday had been really nice, but it hadn’t erased all of their problems. In a way, it just made him miss her even more and made him angrier that she’d went to the LBJ even after he warned her it wasn’t a good idea. “Have you talked to her about everything that’s been going on, yet?” Given the gossip around the Capitol, Isaac had no doubt that Cal knew of Demi’s house arrest, though he wasn’t sure just which version his friend had heard. “Not really,” Cal said haltingly, pausing. “Everything I’ve got, I’ve got second-hand from around the Capitol, not from either of you. Why the hell is she under house arrest, anyway? I mean, if that’s okay to ask.” “Seems like you were going to ask anyway,” Isaac said, raising his brows at Cal. If there were anyone he could talk to about this whole mess, though, it was Cal. He knew Demi from way back when (though, as always, he decidedly ignored the finer details of their acquaintance) and could probably give him more insight on the matter. “Well she went to the LBJ on Thanksgiving. When she got back, Olinger arrested her for violating terms of her release--which, to be fair, it was--but then he held her overnight without telling me and the next day he brought me into his office with that leech Warden of La Quinta, telling me they wanted to lock her up again. I bargained a house arrest for her instead, so…” he trailed off, not sure what else to say on the matter. It was a complicated issue. Cal had stopped eating somewhere over the course of Isaac’s story, listening intently instead. “Good on you,” he said firmly, without a single trace of sardonic humour this time. “Fuck. You ask me, it sounds like they were pretty much just waiting for any excuse to grab her again.” The soldier could walk through life relatively assured that he was on the right side of their government, that he lived in the sheltering embrace of the Department of Resources—but Cal’s eyes had opened far enough to know that the odds in the deck were stacked heavily against the likes of Demi Rafferty. “Well, I told her not to go and she went anyway,” Isaac said, shaking his head. If the situation weren’t so fucking dire, he might find the whole situation funny. No one could ever say that Demi was docile. She spoke her mind and did whatever the hell she felt like. Isaac knew this maybe better than most seeing as they’d been living together for the last six months or so. “But I think you’re right. Seems like Reason wanted her back in La Quinta. Wanted to punch that fucker in the face so bad.” Even though he was furious with Demi, Isaac was beginning to see just how broken their justice system was and it made him feel very unsettled. “Is there anything you can do?” Cal said. The humour had bled out of their conversation; he had a bad habit of doing this, accidentally steering the subject right over to the worst possible thing. But it was like ripping off a band-aid. Addressing the elephant in the room, rather than laughing right past it. “I mean, with your position and all. I know you might’ve already used up that card, but…” Isaac let out a puff of air and shook his head. He’d already told Demi very firmly that all his get out of jail cards were used up and he really believed it. To him, it seemed like the only reason that Demi wasn’t back in La Quinta was because Olinger had some game he was playing -- likely to ensure that Isaac continued to fight the good fight against the Hellhounds. It was something he would do, even without Demi being held as leverage over his head. It just proved how out of touch Olinger was. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Is Demi just supposed to stay there until--I don’t know--How long can they keep her caged up?” “I dunno, man. Considering the Capitol’s supplies, probably technically indefinitely.” Cal made a frustrated noise. “Sorry to bring this down, I know this was supposed to be a good catchup. Just—I go away for a break, I get back, and everything’s still as shit as ever.” There was a bleak laugh somewhere in those words. Cal took another sip of water, grateful as always that they even had water, that through the efforts of the DoR no one at the Capitol was dying of dehydration. At least there was that. Running a hand through his hair, clearly not pleased with Cal’s answer (though honest it had been), Isaac gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, well, it’s the fucking apocalypse man. What else were you expecting?” Dripping his hands back into his lap, his food long forgotten, he said, “Anyway--How was going home? Must’ve been nice to see your family.” “Mm. Yeah. Better.” It felt hopelessly naive to expect that, even though it was the apocalypse, mankind could still be decent to one another. Cal forced himself to shovel the rest of his food in his mouth, even though it tasted even more bland and mealy than usual. “They’re still chugging away up there. Been a year since my aunt died, but for the most part they’re all good. I swear, someday I’ll get you and Demi away for a visit or something. Smell the metaphorical roses, visit the chickens.” A beat, before Cal added lamely, “You know, if things ever settle down again.” Fat chance of that. Isaac gave Cal a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, even if the idea of getting away from the Capitol and all this bullshit seemed very appealing. Who knew when Demi would get off house arrest though… it wasn’t as if a closed-door meeting like that was really a binding contract or an official sentencing. All Isaac could do was wait it out. With another nod and a more genuine smile this time, Isaac said, “Sounds like a plan. ” A few more spoonfuls of eggs and Isaac asked. “So I know why you’ve been a stranger but I haven’t talked to Theo in forever and he doesn’t have going out of town to see his family for Christmas as an excuse. Is he just buried in work again?” “Uh. Yeah, I mean, I… guess so.” For perhaps the first time ever, Isaac saw his friend verbally stumble, that open-book expression flickering with an abashed look. Cal cleared his throat and suddenly found himself focusing very intently on his plate. “Haven’t seen him in a while either. We say hi if we see each other around, but the last time really spending time together was ages ago.” A pause. “I may have made things weird with him. Sorry in advance, man.” It wasn't hard to pick up on Cal’s discomfort. Wracking his brain for anything that might have caused it, Isaac drew a blank, and so he said, “What the fuck? You guys have a fight or something?” Now that Isaac thought about it, things had been all out of sorts for the Three Amigos. He'd been too caught up in everything going on with Demi that it took this conversation to make him realize. Suddenly he felt like a really shitty friend. “I mean, I'm sure whatever it is, it'll blow over, right?” Cal laughed. A fight almost might have been less weird; he was used to fights, and he said so. “That’d have been simpler to deal with. Theo’s too easygoing for fights, I think, unless you’re standing against justice or his getting a hold of stirsticks.” He could have lied, skirted his way around it, protected the other man’s privacy—but Isaac was the necessary third leg of their trio, and Cal supposed he deserved to know one of the reasons their group hadn’t quite gelled over the last couple months. It was better than Isaac noticing the weirdness next time they were all together and Theo was doing his too bright and chipper and manically chatty thing to cover up the discomfort, and it coming out in front of both of them, so— “It’ll blow over,” Cal said, trying to sound blasé. “It’s just gonna be a bit awkward for a bit. We, uh, maybe got drunk and hooked up after Halloween? I’m pretty easygoing about that sort of thing but I think he’s freaking a little. So. There’s that.” Not that Isaac was eating anything but he still somehow managed to find something (in this case his tongue) to choke on before shifting into a hybrid cough-laugh. Once he’d managed to get himself under control though, he just grinned in amusement. “Can’t believe you assholes didn’t invite me. I’m hurt, man. Thought we had something special.” Isaac’s laissez-faire reaction is exactly what was needed to puncture Cal’s embarrassment, making his smile warmer and less strained. “Shit, man, I missed out. Who knows, maybe adding you would’ve rescued us from this predicament.” He winked. “So what made it weird? The fact that his dick’s bigger than yours?” Isaac continued to tease. Really, though, he could understand the weirdness of hooking up with a friend and then suddenly having to go back to normal, despite that experience. But fuck it if Isaac was going to let their drunken blunder ruin some of the only real friendships he had here at the Capitol. Cal gave a theatrical wince. “Shut up. But also, I dunno. I sleep around a bit but he doesn’t really. He’s such a fucking workaholic, you know? Guy could do with some relaxing, which was my whole point from the start, but…” He spread his palms helplessly. “Meanwhile, I am firmly of the opinion that people should always cut loose and enjoy themselves where they can, otherwise we’re all about to go goddamn insane here.” Though Isaac was of the same vein as Theo, taking the commitment of a relationship extremely serious, he didn’t begrudge Cal for his choices. It made his friend happy and as far as he knew, no one was getting hurt. So why not? “You think he feels like he needs to make an honest man out of you now that he’s fucked you? Or did you fuck him?” It was just too easy to keep poking fun at the situation, though, really, he was still contributing to the conversation! Even if he was being sort of an ass about it. It was all in good fun. Cal rolled his eyes. “When have you ever known me to be an honest man, outside of work? Nah, I don’t need any of that, I just need him to behave normally again. You’ll probably see, the next time we’re both miraculously around at the same time. He’s super chatty and, like, hyper almost. It ain’t the same as it used to be. I’m just counting down the days until we’re both chill about it again.” With a huff of breath, he seemed to grow a bit more thoughtful. “Maybe you’ve got the right idea, anyway. I mean, with Demi. That sort of thing. My approach hasn’t exactly done me any favours lately.” After everything Isaac had just told Cal about Demi and the house arrest situation, Cal still thought he and Demi had the “right idea” about relationships… well, Isaac couldn’t help but laugh at that. The situation was beyond messed up and Isaac knew it. Even still, he couldn’t stop himself from loving Demi if he tried. Life was weird like that. “Nah, I’m thinking you and Theo got it right,” he grinned, continuing to enjoy the hell out of this moment. He had so little to laugh about these days that he couldn’t help but cling to it. “Can’t believe he picked you--or did you pick him?--Either way, I’ve been trying to get in both your pants for the past two years with no success. In fact--” Isaac raised himself up enough to lean across the table and grabbed Cal by the neck, pulling him in for a rough but brief kiss. The other man yelped and spluttered once he was released. “See? Not weird. You two are stupid. So we’re all hanging out soon. And if I have to put the moves on Theo, too, to make him see he’s being a dumbass, I will take one for the team.” Cal stared back for a moment, baffled, before his low-grade distress about the entire situation melted away and he cracked up. Leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, their troubles dissipating for a moment. Just this moment, but it was enough. “Jesus fuckin’ christ, Callahan, you are incorrigible.” A beat, another laugh. “Dunno what we’d do without you, man.” “Guilty as charged.” Isaac sat back, a shameless grin on his face. Despite the rough start and depressing conversation topic, things were turning out to be pretty okay, and for that he was grateful. Isac could only hope it wouldn’t be so long before they could do this again. |