Bode 'Bishop' Coldiron (minorpiece) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2017-04-19 13:11:00 |
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This wasn’t the first time that the Hellhound’s president had found himself sipping beer beside the Colonel. Despite their very different paths in life, they had found common ground early on while both serving on the council and that had sparked into something of an acquaintance that was budding into a friendship. In any other life Bishop tended to think that it was very likely the two of them might have even ended up on the same side or associated with the same groups. Hell, on more than one occasion Bishop had mentioned how Kāne would fit in just fine with the Hellhounds -- well the Hellhounds as they were now, not as they had been a year ago. Law-abiding folks hadn’t exactly been drawn to the MC before the government had come rolling into Austin. “Rumor around Austin says you’re adopting or have adopted a kid,” Bishop broke the companionable silence that had fallen over them shortly after they had both received their drinks. “This true or just busy bodies making shit up?” If the other man was a father now that was just one more thing they had in common, and truth be told Bishop wouldn’t mind having another dad to talk to about shit. Raising kids was hard as hell and his were barely even a year old. “No, that's true,” Kāne replied, giving a nod, a brief smile flickering across his features as he looked over to the man beside him. “Didn’t know I was being talked about by anyone, but at least they've got their facts straight.” “You ain’t serious, right? I reckon you’ve been talked about since the moment your boots hit the ground here. Austin might be a large city, but it’s got a gossip network that’s real impressive,” Bishop paused. “Especially in the Capitol from what I hear.” Or at least that was the impression Demi always gave when she would talk about her time there. Kāne shook his head with a chuckle, because he supposed he couldn't argue with that. He took a slow sip of his beer before setting the glass down, resting his hands loosely around it to take in the coolness from the glass. “You've got kids, right?” Bishop gave a nod. “Yeah, I’ve got two of ‘em. Jackson and Lincoln, they’ll be a year old here soon,” A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he talked about Jackson and Lincoln. “Reckon I’d have been a mess at raising ‘em if it weren’t for their mama.” Hazel might not have carried the boys, but in Bishop’s mind she was their mother -- the twins hadn’t ever known anyone else in that role. “Oh so real little ones,” Kāne replied, raising an eyebrow. Being around all the kids at the orphanage made it so he wasn't surprised by the birth of kids in recent past in Austin, but the thought of babies being born in the Dog Park before Austin had all come together - that was hard to think about. “Yeah, moms are good to have around for sure. Though I suppose I'm on my own for this.” A nod. “Yeah, they ain’t even toddlers yet,” Bishop paused. “Unless they’re considered that when they start walking…” He was still very much clueless in many parental type things -- this being one of them. A year ago Austin was chaos still and Bishop felt like the least equipped person to be a parent, and now look at things. He reckoned he got real lucky in that he had a support system, but it still blew his mind that the same babies who looked so small were now walking and starting to ‘talk’ though nothing they said was english yet. “Moms are,” Bishop agreed and then his face fell. “I thought the same back when my boys were born. Their birth mom disappeared shortly after they were born, left me with two tiny humans I was certain I’d screw up. That’s when their mama came into the picture, I’ve known her for years and I reckon that this was always how fate was going to make things happen, just took a little shifting around was all,” he paused and then chuckled. “And that was my real wordy way of saying I wouldn’t assume you’ll be on your own forever, but then I also don’t want to go assuming I know your life at all.” The two man admittedly knew each other in more of a work capacity, but Bishop could admit he hadn’t ever seen the Colonel show interest in anyway, at least not when he was around. So maybe the other man wasn’t interested in having a partner to raise this kid with. “So how old is your new addition?” The corners of Kāne’s mouth quirked into a brief smile at the sentiment. True, there was nothing saying he would be on his forever, but he had to go with what he knew in that moment. There wasn't anything likely to change soon, and he didn't want to bank on the unknown. “Yeah, maybe I won't be. For now I am though, so I’ll just have to work twice as hard.” “Something tells me working twice as hard ain’t something you’re real intimidated by,” Bishop had a feeling there were few things that intimidated Kāne, and while children were admittedly a challenge -- he didn’t think the Colonel would have taken on adopting a child if he wasn’t prepared to do the hard work of raising one. “Nah, I can work hard. No way it'll be harder than taking care of some of the grown men in my unit.” He paused to take a drink of his beer before actually smiling in earnest. “She's three - well, and a half, which that half is very important I’ve been told.” Another pause. “I had a daughter, before. It all feels familiar but so different, this time.” “I got a whole slew of nieces and nephews that would agree that half is real important,” Bishop remarked before his expression went somber for a moment as the other man mentioned having a daughter before. It didn’t come as a surprise, everyone seemed to have lost someone nowadays. It was rarer when it was a child though, which made him wonder if the loss had come before the outbreak. “You mind me asking how you lost your first daughter?” He asked, not wanting to pry, but as the other man had brought it up he felt comfortable in at least asking. “Cancer,” Kāne replied simply, fingertips absently tracing into the condensation on his glass. “Brain tumor. Didn't quite make it to seven - she would have been twenty-one this year.” He paused then gave a quiet chuckle. “That makes me feel old. Maybe I am, since I’m old enough to have a full grown adult kid, but I guess soon I’ll have a three-and-a-half year old to keep me young. Or age me quicker, who knows.” For a moment Bishop was silent, processing the information Kāne had just shared with him. “I’m real sorry for your loss,” he finally uttered, knowing the words weren’t much, but it was all he could say. His stomach twisted at the idea of ever losing Jackson or Lincoln, those two little boys meant the world to him. “Well, I ain’t much younger than you so I reckon we’re both old and likely to be aged by our rugrats,” Bishop remarked with a chuckle. “But we can still run circles around men half our ages, so that’s gotta count for something, right?” Kāne gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement at Bishop’s condolence. It had been a long time since he’d talked about what had happened, and it felt everything had happened a lifetime ago. There had been times he’d gotten so used to people saying those words to him - first because of Launa, then Rosalie not even a year after. They were heavy losses, and ones that he still carried with him, but time created distance. “Hell yeah that counts for a lot,” he replied, a wry grin turning the corners of his mouth. “Keeps me feeling younger than I am even if the years don’t agree. Figure as long as I can keep kicking ass right alongside the young guns, I can’t be that old.” “Damn right it means you ain’t that old,” Bishop replied in agreement before he raised his beer to his lips take another drink. “And wisdom counts for a hell of a lot, I reckon you got it in spades over ‘em.” Most of the young soldiers he had met, this was the first time they were facing anything that looked even remotely like a combat zone, so he felt it was a safe assessment to assume Kāne had more than a little wisdom to impart to the young guys who served beneath him. “Either that or they just gave you you rank ‘cause who’s going to mess with a guy that looks like you,” Bishop waved a hand towards the other man. Kāne laughed at that, an easy smirk curling the corners of his mouth. “I think it was a combination of me being around for so long and the whole looking like this thing. Kind of the whole package. Even though it always surprises people when they hear the rank and then see me.” “When your girl is grown, I imagine her first date ain’t going to be itching to meet you.” Dads were supposed to immediate their daughter’s dates, right? It made him wonder, if only briefly, if he and Hazel might eventually add a couple more kids to their little family, though for the moment they were both content raising their boys. “Yeah, I don’t think so,” Kāne agreed. “At least I hope not. They should be scared - keeps ‘em in line. Helps to look like you can carry out whatever threats get made.” Bishop gave a nod. “I ain’t going to argue with that.” he paused and then looked down at his watch. “Speaking of kids, I better be getting my ass home to help with mine, unless I want to be sleeping on the couch tonight.” “Godspeed,” Kāne replied, raising his beer in a slight salute. “Have a good night and keep off the couch.” |