Kings and Queens and the Bluest Skies Who: Max Mendelson and Sasha Whittaker. Where: The Airstream, Dog Park. What: Some big bro/little bro commiseration time: talking ‘bout love and ladies and whether or not Thor could kick Superman’s ass. When: 2/8/19, after the clinic doctors leave the Dog Park; sometime after dark but sometime before bedtime.
Castles, they might crumble Dreams may not come true But you are never all alone 'Cause I will always, Always love you...
Max had tried his best. Really, he had. When Sasha had returned to the Airstream earlier in the day with a new lady friend in tow, Max had executed a hasty and silent retreat to leave them to their own devices. He left feeling proud and jazzed that his little brother had made the acquaintance of a nice young woman from the hospital. What he hadn’t anticipated was Vic barging in on his stepson’s rendezvous like a bull in a china shop. Max had tried to stop his friend; he used all his tried and true stalling tactics short of wrapping himself around Vic’s feet so he couldn’t move. Alas, Max knew better than anyone that there was no stopping The Enforcer when he was on a mission: Vic’s untimely arrival in the Airstream had effectively ruined the moment and mood for Sasha and his potential sweetheart.
Max had given Sasha some space and time before he went back to the Airstream after the whole coitus interruptus debacle. He entered their home tentatively, ready to hightail it back to the bonfire if Sasha still needed a little time. Max was certain his brother from another mother would confide in him eventually, even if now wasn’t the right time.
“Don’t worry,” Max said, stepping into the main room of the Airstream that served as both their living quarters and Sasha’s bedroom. “It’s just me.”
Reliving the catastrophe that was his dad walking in on him and Bea, was, well, not how Sasha had seen his evening going. No. He had had every hope that his evening would end in a far more appealing way, alas it hadn’t and now here Sasha lay on the couch in the Airstream going over every horrifying detail of his dad breaking up his would be hook-up. Could his life get any more tragic? Alright, yeah, he knew it could. A failed hook-up was not actually the end of the world, and he did have Bea’s number now...still, missing out on that opportunity was really, really depressing.
When Sasha heard the door to the Airstream open and Max announced that it was just him, he heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks for trying to keep him out of here,” was the younger man’s greeting, the faintest of smiles tucking at the corners of his mouth. “It was a valiant effort, man.” Sasha added while he sat up on the couch.
“I was this close,” he sighed. “This close.” Sasha gave Max a pained look, well aware he was probably be more dramatic about this than he needed to be, or should be. But it wasn’t every day that a girl he had even a remote chance with literally showed up practically on his doorstep.
Max smiled sympathetically and flopped down on the couch next to Sasha.
“I know, buddy,” Max said, patting the younger man’s shoulder as he sank into the worn cushions. “I had full faith you’d pull off the “W” but you know your stepdad. Trying to tackle him is like trying to bring down a refrigerator locked inside a bigger, sturdier refrigerator.”
Sasha laughed despite himself as Max painted a very accurate word picture of just what it was like to try and stop his dad. “Let’s be real, even if you, me and Marina had tried to stop him, we still would have failed and he’d have been victorious.” The reality was his hooking up with Bea was probably doomed the moment his dad had heard about it.
“Next time I should plan ahead and convince Marina to distract him,” Sasha continued, wincing a bit at what form of distraction would use. It would be effective, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he wanted to actually think about that. “And that’s like the last I’m going to say on that.” He let his head fall back against the cushion and scrubbed a hand over his face, his mood lifted just a hair now that he had Max as company.
Max had steered clear of the traveling band of doctor’s once they had arrived at the Dog Park; Pete was one of their numbers, after all. They still weren’t talking and Max had no desire to be subjected to a repeat performance of being screamed at in front of the entire camp by his former friend. Even though he’d been hiding out, Max had caught a glimpse of the trio (to be honest, it was sort of hard not to notice a troika of hot docs making their way through the compound), including Sasha’s lady love. She had appeared to be a very pretty girl with dark hair and a nice, warm smile and Max was sure he hadn’t been the only Dog Park inhabitant to notice. And yet, it had been his boy Sasha that had caught this accomplished young woman’s eye.
“Sooo...what’s her name?” Max rested his chin on his fist and stared at Sasha with rapt attention. “What’s she like?”
Sasha was grinning now, more than happy to talk about the pretty girl he nearly hooked up with. Leave it to Max to make a shitty situation better by focusing on the positive instead of the negative. “Bea, her name’s Bea,” he began, his grin definitely morphing into a dopey one. “And I mean we didn’t do like a lot of talking, but I know she’s smart and sweet. She has ambitions to be a doctor, hence the whole being a part of the traveling clinic thing. And well, she’s hot, but that’s not really like a personality thing.” Now that he was relaying what he knew about Bea, Sasha realized it was kind of horrifying just how little he had found out about her. “Even though dad charged in like a bull in a china shop, she totally still gave me her number….I should probably like ask more questions about her so I don’t come off as that guy who just wanted to get in her pants.” His grin had been replaced by a sheepish expression now, his true feelings on having gone start to make-out kind of shining through. “God, I had just been so pumped that for once there was a girl around my age who was giving me attention, think I jumped ahead of myself…”
Max listened to Sasha attentively, nodding when Sasha made various points throughout his story. He knew he was literally the farthest thing from being knowledgeable with women but even in his limited experience, Max thought Sasha did make a fair point in thinking he should have maybe gotten to know her a bit more before heading down the road to poundtown.
“I mean, it’s awesome that you too hit if off with even with, uh, minimal talking points,” Max said diplomatically. He knew he had less experience than Sasha in terms of women but he was older, if slightly wiser. Besides, if there was anyone more concerned with the hypothetical wants and needs of women than Max Mendelson, Max had yet to meet him.
“...and it’s so great that you’ve found someone your own age but maybe your dad raining on your parade gave you the opportunity to know this gal better! Sure, she’s super pretty and has the good sense to know you’re a total catch but what if she’s, I dunno, a serial killer? What if she has five husbands? What if she thinks Iron Man 2 is a better superhero film than Captain America: Winter Soldier? These are important questions, Sash, and not to be taken lightly when you’re thinking about doing the no-pants dance with someone.”
Sasha knew that Max could always be counted on to be a listening ear and shoulder to metaphorically cry on after an event like the one Sasha had just experienced. It wasn’t the end of the world, but when his realm of romantic prospects was smaller than he would like, well, it felt very nearly like it was. Giving the other man an appreciative smile, feeling as if he didn’t need to verbally express to Max just how glad he was to have him here at the Dog Park and as his roommate on days like this when he needed one hell of a pick me up.
“To be entirely fair, I’m pretty sure most of it was us hitting it off because of a physical attraction,” Sasha admitted honestly, not ashamed to own up to the fact that that had been a major player in them going from talking to well, to what his Dad had come bursting in on.
Now he had to laugh just a little, primarily because Bea wasn’t his own age. “Nah, still haven’t managed to find someone my own age, she’s a couple years older. So like, totally a cougar,” said with a smirk and a joking tone. “But I get what you’re saying, I should probably find out more than her name, age and occupation before getting into bed with her. I mean, thinking Iron Man 2 is a better movie than Captain America: Winter Soldier is a total deal breaker,” leave it to Max to not only cheer him up, but also bring an air of humor to the whole situation. “Maybe dad unknowingly saved me from sleeping with someone who might think that Ben Affleck was a good Batman.” He added with a grimace.
“Well, I have no room to talk since Val Kilmer has always been, and will forever be, my favorite Batman,” Max said without the slightest bit embarrassment his statement probably warranted. “But superhero preference aside, if she seemed liked a cool chick, it certainly wouldn’t hurt knowing her a little bit.”
Sasha laughed. “You know I’m still judging you hardcore for that choice,” he personally held the opinion that Michael Keaton was the best Batman, or Christian Bale -- except the Batman voice was a bit much. “But we’re not going to go down that rabbit hole, I mean how long did we talk about it last time? Six hours?” Sasha was pretty sure they had lost at least that much time to that particular conversation, if not more.
“Six hours at least, because that’s the proper amount of time to set aside for such an important debate,” Max said resolutely.
Understanding that Bea was a few years older than 18 year old Sasha and knowing that lived at the hospital made Max wonder if she knew Dani at all. But as soon as he pondered the thought, Max started doing math in his head. He frowned. The 8 year age difference between him and Dani hadn’t ever really mattered to either of them, as far as their friendship went. They were inherently different people; in background, in upbringing, in occupation, in looks, in personality and, of course, in age. But that’s what made their kinship so interesting: they always had new things to learn from one another because they were so dissimilar. He had never considered that the May/December aspect of their relationship might be off putting to others since it mattered so little to themselves.
“Should I be weirded out that we both like women that are almost the same age?” Max fretted, making a face.
“Ah, no,” Sasha answered as if it was obviously the only answer that was logical and could be given. “Age isn’t really a thing people worry about anymore, is it?” Maybe he was a teenager clinging to the idea that being interested in a girl a couple years older than himself wasn’t all that big of a deal anymore. Wasn’t like people could be a choosy about who they went out with, right? “And anyway, if everything you’ve told me about Dani is true, she’s more mature than both you and I combined. So I think age is irrelevant,” Sasha paused. “Do you think they know each other? I mean UMCB isn’t that big….”
“You’re definitely right about Dani being the more grown up out of the two of us,” Max agreed. “Okay, good then. So long as I don’t give off that creepo vibe.” Sasha had a way of explaining and expanding on things in a way that comforted Max and made him less worried. They didn’t always see eye-to-eye but even when it wasn’t little brother’s intention to ease his worries, he found solace in Sasha’s musings.
Sasha tossed Max an unamused look. “Dude, pretty sure you’d have to work really damn hard to give off a creepo vibe,” Maybe he was biased, actually he was probably totally biased, but he couldn’t see how anyone could ever put creep and Max in the same sentence. Dude treated women like they were God’s gift or rare creatures or something.
“You know, I bet they do know each other,” Max mused aloud. Excitement struck him profoundly and he grabbed Sasha’ shirtfront. Max’s eyes went wide and a huge grin stretched across his face. “What if we someday we were able to go on a double date?!”
As quickly as Max’s elation presented itself, it deflated when faced with the idea of coming to terms with his feelings for Dani and actually getting up the nerve to tell her about them. He released Sasha’s shirt and hastily patted down the wrinkles he created in the fabric.
“I might be getting a little ahead of myself,” he conceded with a sheepish grin.
Laughter was the only noise Sasha made for a little while, enjoying the excitement that had just come pouring out of Max. After his earlier incident with Bea and his dad, the laughter was a much needed remedy. “Where would we even double date?” Sasha questioned with a grin.
Max shrugged. “I dunno.” He hummed under his breath and rubbed his stubbly chin, pretending to give it deep consideration. “I’d say IHOP but their management has gotten awfully bitey as of late.”
His suggestion was obviously a joke but the idea of being together with Dani, introducing her to Sasha, and doing something as mundane as the four of them sitting the bonfire really appealed to Max. The only thing standing in the way of that was Max lacking the chutzpah to share his feelings with Dani. Sasha elaborated.
“And you are getting a little ahead of yourself. I mean I’m not going to tell you what to do or anything, but I think first Dani needs to know how you feel, dude.” He wasn’t pressuring Max into anything, after all rest of their little hodge podge of a family seemed to give the older man enough crap about his love life, or lack there of. “Plus, we don’t even know if Bea will ever talk to me again after dad came charging into the Airstream and created a whole world of awkward up in here,” His expressions shifted for just a moment before he settling back into a grin. “But we’re not going to talk about that anymore, I think I’ve dwelled on the shambles of my love life enough for one night.”
“Right, we’re not going to talk about perfect storm of awkward anymore...right after I tell you that she’s totally gonna talk to you again,” Max said with enough confidence for the both of them. “Because who could ever resist this adorable punim?” Max reached over and squeezed Sasha’s face, forcing his roomie’s lips into a comical kissy face. Convinced that was all the evidence Max needed to settle the Bea issue, Max stood, spread his arms out wide and yawned.
“Alright, broheim, I’m heading off to bed,” Max said, leaving the living room that served as Sasha’s room and going to his own. He closed the partition between the rooms long enough to leave Sasha to do his own nighttime routine and himself changed into his sleeptime clothes. Max opened it again once they’d both gotten around, as he more often than not did. Max flopped into his bed, snuggled against his pillow, and closed his eyes. As soon as he did, however, an important, life changing thought struck his brain. He couldn’t sleep yet, not until this matter was settled. Nothing would ever be the same. It could, and would, change everything.
“Dude, Thor is totally as powerful as Superman. He’s from another world, is Schwarzenegger strong and can fly like a mofo.”
Sasha had just settled into bed and closed his eyes when Max’s voice drifted through the Airstream. Shifting a little, he propped himself up on an elbow before he replied. “Superman has all of those plus x-ray vision, heat vision, cold breath, super-speed, enhanced hearing, and nigh-invulnerability. He totally has Thor beat.”
It went back and forth like that for minutes...probably hours; but hours never seemed like hours when it was Max and Sasha together. Eventually, after much debate, speculation, and laughter and without either of them entirely knowing whether they settled the Thor vs. Superman debate at all, the two brothers drifted off to sleep.