Re: Carriage House: Atticus & Billy
"Opportunistic," Atticus teased about being accustomed to guys with hard spots for brats. Joking didn't make Atticus uncomfortable. He joked around with his friends regularly. Bad puns were usually at the top of the list, but some good ribbing never went amiss. And wasn't an insult, or wasn't meant as one. Billy wasn't particularly bratty, not to Atticus' thinking. Sure, kid had some strong emotions about things, but that was just age. Atticus was sure he got his feelings trampled a lot a few decades in the past. Thick skin grew with time. Atticus,' at this point, was pretty darn thick. Now, whether Atticus understood that the joking could be considered sexual, that was impossible to tell.
And, of course, he returned the salvo when Billy said he shouldn't return home. "Why?" Simple question. Could be evaded, avoided. Atticus wouldn't push, not beyond just posing the question. If Billy wanted to share, he could. If he didn't want to, he could stuff himself full of chocolate and peanut butter. Both options were good ones. Could tell the subject made Billy nervous, and Atticus understood how that felt. But Billy went on to say he was dangerous, and Atticus didn't so much as lift a brow. "Why?" Simple.
The music had definitely stopped. The Carriage House was quiet, save for the occassional creak from upstairs that reminded Atticus how this dinner shouldn't go very long. Was one thing to have occassional people, friends, because that went over fine, so long as none of them did anything aggressive. But anyone getting close, that hadn't ever gone well in Atticus' past. Atticus, aged nearly 40, knew the warning signs now. He listened to them creak above his head.
"Just Carver," Atticus said of the boys. "Thinks he can make the world safer. Trying to get him to see things from a different point of view." Which, for Atticus, was extremely ambitious. It was decidedly proactive. Sure, Atticus wasn't going to battle anything to get Carver to see reason, but he'd at least try to put Carver in the path of reason. "But no cleaning up. I insist. My treat. I'll even get you a cab, if you want. Once you can stand." Atticus' car was currently sitting out back with the hood up, and his new project hadn't arrived from the Capital yet.