Who: Shane & Toby Where: Haven Park When: Mid May afternoon, a couple of days after meeting Diego
As it turned out, nurses and their hours were entirely unpredictable and annoying so Shane did not in fact find Toby at the hospital. It was probably okay since he might have been too busy with work to talk and as it also turned out, even hospital staff could be endearingly and worryingly naive. Shane turned on the charm and got Toby's home address and of course he made sure to remind the guy who gave it to him not to do that again. With a smile, of course, no need to make the guy feel bad. Shane wasn't sure if he'd even find Toby at home, apparently he had another job at some Rain house or some shit but there was only one way to find out.
Haven Park was a place Shane had actually considered renting a place at before opting for an Airbnb in Overlook so he was at least vaguely familiar with the place when he pulled up. Finding Toby's apartment was easy and he knocked on the door, checking his phone while he waited. Ten missed calls and an ungodly number of unread messages. Yeah, that was too much to deal with so he pocketed it once he heard movement behind the door.
There weren’t a lot of people who just dropped by Toby’s apartment, but since Adrian had that one time Toby went to the door without worry about who might be on the other side. It could be Adrian, it could be one of his neighbors, but when he opened the door to an unfamiliar face his walls immediately went up. “Hi, can I help you?” he frowned, reluctant to even open the door wide enough for the guy to see inside. He hand stayed on the door, ready to shut it, his adrenaline kicking into high gear as the flight part of Toby prepared itself. He reached out psychically, trying to gauge the threat level and came back with a sense of dread and familiarity that made his heart race. He knew this man, but he didn’t. He was a threat, but he wasn’t. “Who are you?” he asked much more quietly, but then as soon as it rolled off his tongue he knew. Not for certain, he could never be sure without an answer, but he’d bet money on it if he could.
Shane had the upper hand here because even if he might not have been able to recognize Toby after only seeing him briefly seventeen years ago, Jane had shown everyone to him in a dream so he knew for sure who he was talking to. The paranoia was almost tangible and Shane couldn't blame him for it, not with who they were up against. "Shane," he replied with an easy little smile and maybe he was still excited about his visit with Diego or just feeling flashy but he couldn't help but let little flames briefly roll over his fingers to show off - although he told himself it was more to let Toby know that he really was who he said he was. "We have a whole lot of mutual friends and enemies," he added and looked Toby over. Like Neil he'd grown up hot, only despite his paranoia he didn't seem as strangely repelling as the uptight librarian. "Jane did say I was coming, right?"
Shane didn’t need to show off to prove who he was—Toby would’ve sniffed out the lie in mere seconds—but the display won a set of wide eyes and an open door. “Not in the hallway, are you fucking nuts?!” Maybe he was a tad paranoid, but it felt warranted. There were more of them in Point Pleasant now and that was likely to garner attention from anyone who might be watching. Toby wasn’t a hundred percent certain that his apartment was safe, but if AIR had eyes on him, then they were definitely watching who was coming and going. “Jane says a lot of things. Bitch makes me crazy and she enjoys it,” he said as soon as the door was shut behind Shane. Toby looked at him again then, trying to let that moment of panic go. Shane looked good, a definite improvement from the soot covered kid he remembered. Far less traumatized, and definitely less skittish than Toby currently was. “I didn’t know you were coming here, to my apartment. Sorry for freaking the fuck out,” he sighed. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Well, that made for an easy way to get inside quickly and Shane couldn't help but snicker quietly as Toby threw the door open to let him in. He couldn't blame him, he'd be freaking the hell out if someone came knocking at his place but there weren't exactly a whole lot of other ways for him to approach these people. "I'm good," he said at the offer, at least for now, but he had no idea how long he was stopping. "And yeah that sounds like Jane," he murmured as he looked around the apartment, a nice little place and definitely a step up from Diego's little trailer. He was still glad he'd gone with Overlook, this place would feel claustrophobic after a while. "Has she been hounding your dreams or your work?" he asked cheekily since it did sound like she'd been bugging Toby a lot more than she had Shane but then he hadn't given her much reason to hound him yet. She had threatened though, so he knew she had some bite.
“She cornered me at work. Just once. That was enough,” Toby said, and even though Shane didn’t want a drink, he suddenly did. It wasn’t just a way to destress; it might help him keep his powers in check. They were always worse when he was rattled and he wanted to calm the fuck down, pronto. “If she starts haunting my dreams, we’re going to have a chat.” There was nothing about Toby that was threatening, but he could be a pest if he wanted to be. Jane might come for him in his sleep, but he could mess with her while awake. It was a petty little war he doubted either of them wanted on their hands. “I can’t believe she dragged you back here. Where were you? Do you have any idea what this place is like?”
Shane watched him rant with a faintly amused smile, then idly licked his bottom lip. "Hi! Nice to meet you," he said chipperly - a joke with no malice - then let out a little laugh. "Are you always this high strung or is it just the looming threat of AIR that's got you going? Diego says hi by the way." He started walking as he spoke, idly meandering more like it, looking at Toby's things. Maybe Toby and Neil were the ones reacting most appropriately to the threats they were facing but they both still lived right there in Point Pleasant so that was a little weird.
Toby stopped and laughed softly, mostly at himself, then did a grand curtsey fit for a queen. “Lovely to meet you, darling. Welcome to my home,” he said, all drama now. He rose, then perched himself on the arm of the couch, one of his favorite places to sit when he didn’t actually want to sit. “No, I’m not usually like this. AIR is making me a crazy little bitch. The idea that they’re out there, possibly watching, probably listening, has me lit up like a Christmas tree almost twenty-four-seven. I’m going to have a drink because it tones me down a little.” It was an act, but it felt significantly better than the scene he’d been making moments ago. He felt more himself and Toby relaxed into it, using the role of polite host to rein himself in. “Diego’s a doll,” he smiled. “When did you meet him?”
Shane tittered at the grand gesture and mimicked taking off a hat in return. "A couple of days ago. Guess you guys met since! I didn't get to meet his partner and daughter though - next time, I guess. We've got some fun plans for the summer and we were wondering what it is that you can do." Straight to the point? Sure, why not. He was curious and he wasn't exactly the most patient person in the world. "We had theories about healing hands, given what you do for a living. Too on the nose?"
Toby had met Oliver, since they both worked at the hospital, but he hadn’t met their daughter yet. He was sure they’d all get together soon enough; now that Shane was in town it was just a matter of time. “That would be an awesome power, but no,” Toby smiled. “I’m kind of surprised you don’t know, but I guess we didn’t all know each other’s abilities back then.” The older kids had involved Toby with the planning, asking his opinion on things like he was some kind of expert, relying on his gut to guide them. He knew which guards would be sick, or slow, or more likely to fall asleep when they were supposed to be watching the cameras. But most of all, he’d known the way out as if on instinct, his brain so amped up on the night of the escape that he could’ve run through a maze blindfolded and successfully found the exit. “I’m clairvoyant,” he said. “Which for me means I know things. It’s not very showy, unless you want to play a guessing game.”
Shane felt a pang of disappointment as he wondered if clairvoyance was different from mind-reading. Powers of the mind were less fun for him since he couldn't see them in action and so far the only one who'd been fun was Diego. Neil apparently had destructive powers too but he was completely uncooperative. Shane hadn't really known much about the mechanics of their escape back in the day; for all he knew Jane was the mastermind, she'd shown up in his dreams and told him what to do, where to lead the fire, when to start it and all that and all he knew was that she'd gleamed some of that information from other people's dreams. "Gut instinct kinda stuff or do you read minds like Mal does?" he asked because he had to ask and maybe he should be making deals like the others; you stay out of my head, I won't singe your hair? He didn't have a whole lot of leverage here.
“More gut instinct than mind reading, but if you’re projecting loud enough I’ll probably hear it,” Toby said, naturally picking up on Shane’s disappointment. God, he hated telling people what he could do. So few took it well. “I’d love to create never-ending fireballs with you and Diego, or lightning like Neil, but instead I’m more of a portable crystal ball. Which you probably don’t need because you’ve got Mal, who seems to be able to pick whatever he wants out of someone’s brain. He creeps me out. I’ve been working on telepathy, but so far it’s kind of quirky and one-sided.” It was all less than impressive in this crowd and he’d have bowed out completely if he didn’t feel like he needed to know what was going on. Not knowing felt far more dangerous, making this one of those times when Toby went against the norm because it felt right. “Sorry, honey. Nothing to get excited about here.”
Shane couldn't help but laugh at the mention of endless fireballs. He hadn't been thinking about it right at that moment so it was less of a mind-read and more of a... Well, he didn't know what the fuck to make of it. Something Toby grabbed out of thin air? "I don't suppose you see future stuff too," he asked with a grin because Toby's gift might not be physical but whatever this was could come in handy with steering them in the right direction. And Toby was a lot less likely to be bigoted than Mal was and didn't send up any red flags so far. "Can you tell if I'm going to accidentally fry Diego? 'Cause that would be super helpful to know in advance." They were going to be safe as they could, of course, but knowing if something was going to go wrong was optimal.
“Sometimes,” Toby smiled. “Diego flambe doesn’t seem to be on the menu at the moment, but I’ll let you know if that changes. I don’t think anyone wants you to char him.” Or anyone else, for that matter. Every time a burn patient came into the ER Toby had a minor breakdown—not there in the hospital, but usually when he got home. Toby had nothing to do with the fire when they escaped, but it still haunted him. All those deaths, people screaming…. He couldn’t think of that right now, not with Shane standing in his living room, but it was something he wanted to avoid this go-round. “I’m better at it if you give me a set of circumstances. Like, I might randomly tell you not to go out tonight and it’ll end up flooding, and you’d ‘ve been stuck if you had. Or I’ll take a different route home from work for no reason at all and find a friend that needs my help on the way.”
"Hey, don't sell yourself short then," Shane said cheerfully, because that did sound really useful to him. "You might keep us from getting killed or worse." He gave Toby a crooked smile. "No pressure, just saying it might happen." It was tempting to ask him random questions, like an 8-ball, but he was pretty sure it didn't work that way either and he didn't want to be a total nuisance about it. Tempted though. So tempted. "So does that happen a lot? Finding friends in need of help? Avoiding flash floods?" He picked up a random little trinket off of Toby's shelf, looking it over as he spoke. Yes he was fidgeting a little, maybe he should take that drink.
"Around here? You'd be surprised," Toby laughed lightly. "I try to keep it in check though, unless I'm at work. It helps me better understand my patient's needs, so it doesn't feel as much like a breach of trust." Especially when they were in pain and didn't know how to describe it. Sometimes what people were dealing with was more emotional than physical and they just needed someone to talk to. Whenever Toby started hating on his abilities, he just had to remember all the people he'd been able to help using them and it quelled his frustrations a little. "You sure you don't want that drink?" he asked, rising from his seat and heading towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna have one even if you don’t.”
Shane had to wonder if the repeated offer was a part of Toby's gift, a coincidence or just that normal way people tended to pick up on body language. It still made him smile a bit and he glanced back at Toby with a grin. "Yeah, on second thought. Beer, bourbon, whatever you've got." He put the trinket back and strolled after Toby, still looking around the place. "Sounds like you might be the lucky charm we so desperately need," he said and it was somewhat reassuring to think that if everything got out of hand Toby might be able to find a way out of it. "Bet it makes you good at gambling too." Which was one of the few vices Shane wasn't fascinated with. He could see the appeal but it wasn't for him. Of course if he knew the odds were in his favor he might feel differently.
“Bourbon then,” Toby said, drawing a bottle out of the cabinet to make them both up a drink. Lucky charm was probably an accurate description and he grinned at the mention of gambling. “I went to Vegas once in college. Absolutely killed it on the floor. Had close to fifty-grand in winnings. They thought I was counting cards and asked me to leave. Now I’m on some gambling watchlist,” he snickered. It wasn’t illegal to count cards, but casinos were private property and they could have him arrested for trespassing if he got caught. He could always work around it, gamble at places he hadn’t been before or play different games, but he didn’t want to risk being caught by someone worse than local police. “It kinda feels like cheating, to be honest,” he said, handing Shane his drink. “But if one trip can pay off all my student debt, it’s kind of worth it. Just once.”
Shane took the drink and listened, his amusement growing as well as his appreciation for Toby's gift. "Man I hope you're just showing off and you're not actually this oblivious to your abilities," he murmured after taking a sip and licking his lips. "If you do that on accident then... Everyone knows you've got something going on by now." He watched Toby curiously to see if his reaction would be a knowing laugh or a baffled look and if it was the latter the boy oh boy did they need to have a chat.
“Oh, I knew exactly what I was doing in Vegas, honey,” Toby laughed, batting a hand at him. “I’ve known since we were kids. I just try to keep it in check because it fucks things up, knowing things you shouldn’t. People don’t trust you. Except lately, knowing AIR’s around, I’ve been all—“ He waved his hands wildly around his head, as if that captured his state of mind better than any word he could think of. “It makes me a little crazy. I don’t want to turn it off ‘cause then I might miss something.” But it also meant he was perceptive beyond normal means. Sometimes he didn’t even know what he was doing. It would’ve scared him, except there were worse things to be scared of.
Shane had never thought about how being around a Null might actually bring some of his psychic buddies relief, but he thought of that now as Toby ranted about his abilities, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for how his own gift felt to him. It might not help him rake in money, but it made him feel safe, powerful and warm and having that turned off was just a step above drowning. "At least you don't hear a million voices in your head," he offered up with a sympathetic smile. "Or you'd need to get yourself a helmet or something. Tin foil hat." He was joking, but at the same time not because this sounded like it could be a painful burden at times, gut instinct kicking in all the time, making him feel compelled to do something or go somewhere. Or maybe that was normal to Toby by now, maybe it was no different from Shane's own need to not stay in the same room for a long time. "Hopefully we'll get AIR off the board soon enough and you can relax some."
“Oh god, I’m so glad I’m not full-on telepath, you don’t even know. My hair just couldn’t cope with being shoved in a helmet all the time,” Toby said as he fluffed his hair with a little laugh. “I don’t know how people like that cope, unless they just learn to tune it out, like background noise.” Still, having someone else’s thoughts constantly running through his head would probably drive him mad. It made him thankful that his own abilities didn’t work quite like that. He leaned against the counter, his foot tapping a sign of nervous energy when he was trying to stay calm. “You really think we can do it?” he asked. “If there’s a plan, I haven’t heard it. And if they have anyone powerful on their side, anyone like me, or Mal, or a true precog? We could be so fuckin’ screwed it’s not even funny.”
Shane was somewhat impressed with Toby's hair and his willingness to just let it go wild like that. It looked great on him at least and while Shane's hair was fluffier than hell when he left it unattended, it wasn't curly so he thought it just looked silly when it was wild. He shook his head at the question then, shrugging softly. "That's why we're not moving, I guess. We need to know what we're walking into. It'd be easy just to burn the place down again but we don't know what's inside or what it's connected to. There are more places just like it so we gotta be careful." It wasn't his strong suit and sometimes he wondered if he was really needed here. They could just call him in when they were ready to strike. But no, it was probably better to be close by if everything went to hell. "If they wanted us, they'd have us already. It's probably a good idea to get your affairs in order though, just in case we really are screwed."
“If they’re holding kids there, like they were us, we can’t just burn it down. I won’t let you,” Toby said, calm but honest. He did not want innocent people dying. The whole point of this was to prevent people from being hurt like they’d been hurt, at least for him. They’d already had their revenge. Then something Shane said caught up with him and he frowned. “What do you mean ‘there are more places just like it’? Like, more facilities? And we just took out one?” He’d really wanted to believe that they were dealing with a small group of deranged scientists, not some international plot to kidnap children and torture psychic abilities into them. If that was the case they were way out of their league. “I don’t even know what that means—get my affairs in order. Plan my own funeral? Tell work I might suddenly go missing? Should I leave a note?” He was only halfway joking. He could count on one hand the number of people that knew the truth about his disappearance and what he could do and getting them involved would only put them in danger. The only one who might be able to handle it was Adrian and he already had his hands full.
Shane tsk'ed and frowned at the idea that he would ever burn a building without knowing if AIR had kids in there but he supposed Toby couldn't know that. He'd been the lunatic who burned the people inside in the first place, trusting in Jane and the others to get everyone out. He'd controlled it as best as he could for as long as he could but fire didn't like to be controlled for long. He shrugged then at Toby's question and knocked back the rest of his bourbon. "Just make sure you don't have unfinished business, I guess. I don't really own anything or owe anyone anything so I'm good. Just have to send my boy toy home before the war really starts." He smirked and shrugged again. "But you might wanna write a will? I don't know."
“Jesus,” Toby muttered at the thought of writing out a will. It felt like a guarantee that he would need it, though he supposed he should be responsible and make sure anyone that was left dealing with his shit wouldn’t have a mess on his hands. It was a darker road than he was ready to go down and one that required far more adulting than he was willing to take on at the moment. “You brought your boy toy with you?” he asked with a smirk, turning the conversation to something far more interesting. “Is he pretty? Do you have pictures? How did you meet?” They weren’t important details, but they were the kind of thing that Toby preferred to focus on. He also noticed that a number of them preferred the same sex and he wondered at the probability there. He didn’t believe that trauma had anything to do with a person’s sexuality, but it was still curious. It made him wonder who Neil might be attracted to, if Neil was into that sort of thing.
"Isn't pretty in the job description of boy toy?" Shane asked with a little titter and he didn't mind the change of topic in the least. It occurred to him that maybe it wasn't normal to be going around showing pictures of his 'boy toy' to everyone but they asked and he had them so, why not? So he fished out his phone like he had done for Diego, found a good picture of Reza and showed it to Toby. "He's not in the know about AIR or any of that so if you meet him, hush hush." He didn't think any of them would straight up start chatting about AIR with a stranger but it was worth noting anyway. "We met in a club, of course. But also kinda through work, I guess. He's an agent for musical talent and I run a nightclub."
“Ooooo,” Toby cooed as he looked at the picture, then grinned back at Shane. “He’s a hottie. Does he have a name?” Of course he did, but Toby was hoping Shane would share it with him, otherwise he’d just have to refer to him as Shane’s boy going forward. “Seems kinda risky, not telling him, but I won’t be the one to spill the beans,” he snickered. On this point he thought Shane was crazy. How did he plan to explain the times they met up, and then whatever it was they planned to do? Was he just going to leave him behind and let him know that if he didn’t show, to call the police because he might be dead? It didn’t seem like a good plan. “Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good gig. Where’s home? I might have to visit your club sometime if we survive this.”
"Reza," Shane said with a little shrug to Toby's first question and then laughed at his second. "If you like the company of straight coke-heads and ecstacy boppers then yeah, come to Firelight in Chicago. If you prefer the gay scene, I'd recommend Kiki. That's where I go when I'm looking to party." Well, it was one of the places but he didn't know Toby well enough to know if he'd be happy or mortified to be recommended a sex club. "I promised Diego that if worse comes to worst but we do survive I'm chartering a plane out of here. You're all cordially invited to join us, of course. We just need to pick a good destination somewhere nice and tropical."
"Yeah, Kiki's probably more my scene these days," Toby grinned. He felt like his hardcore partying days were mostly behind him, but it'd be fun to hit up a club if he was ever in Shane's neck of the woods. It helped Toby to think of a future that didn't result in death, even if that was a possibility. "Sign me up," he smiled. "I could use an island getaway, some place warm with beautiful water and beautiful people who serve me drinks with umbrellas. I need to work on my tan." He wasn't sure if Shane was serious, but if he was, then he'd take him up on the offer.
Shane both was and wasn't serious. He'd do it in a heartbeat if it was just him but there were other people involved and other people tended to have hangups about leaving everything behind. Shane just thought it could be nice. Sure he'd never lived anywhere but the US, he didn't speak any other languages or know how anything worked but he'd been lost in the world before and that time he hadn't had money to fall back on. "Exactly, loads of umbrellas for all our Mojitos, Margaritas, Pina Coladas, Daiquiris-" he trailed off with an easy grin. "Any ideas for a good location? My geography sucks."
“Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Cayman—there’s a number of ‘em that are gorgeous. I just know those because the locals speak English and I’ve been looking at getting away there sometime myself,” Toby grinned. “I know there’s tons of places in Mexico and South America, but my Spanish isn’t so hot.” But if Diego and Oliver were on board, that might not matter, unless those were some of the places they were trying to avoid. He didn’t really know their entire backstory. He knew he was one of the weird ones, staying put where AIR had been, but his mother had been here and after all this time he didn’t think there was anyone left looking for him. Reality was that he was probably one of the easiest to track down.
Vacation was one thing, being a fugitive was something completely different and Shane really had no idea how any of these places would work if worse came to worst. What if AIR was fucking everywhere, an internatioal behemoth of evil. Still, dreaming was free and he smiled at the idea of living the good life in some carribean paradise with people just like him. He knew the Cayman Islands were a financial haven but that was about the extent of his knowledge of the place and he had a feeling he'd be looking up some places online tonight. Who knew he'd be interested in geography eventually. "All I know is we're not going to Ecuador," he said with a grin before doubting himself and frowning softly. "Or was it El Salvador? Fuck. Geography, man. It's a pain in the ass."
“We can avoid all places that start with an E,” Toby grinned. He wasn’t at all worried about the details at the moment, doubtful that it would ever happen. But it was a nice dream to have. Maybe he should look into it himself, just to have something to fall back on. Toby didn’t think he’d make a very good fugitive, though he could probably skirt the law if he really needed to. The combination of instinct and his powers had kept him alive in Point Pleasant this long and he tended to think anywhere else was a walk in the park by comparison. “So where you holding up while you’re here? Got a room down at Juniper?” He knew that wasn’t right, Shane was staying someplace nicer, but he couldn’t pinpoint where. It wasn’t like they had a load of hotels to choose from.
"A room?" Shane said with a grimace that said even more than the disgust in his tone. "Hell no, I'm renting a place up in Overlook." He liked big places, big halls, night club and restaurant type of buildings, big windows with a view. A medium sized bedroom was fine if he didn't have to spend more nights there than he himself wanted to and he never lived in the same apartment for very long. "Jane said this would take a while so I made sure to have a good place to stay." It had to do with more than just luxury; contained spaces still gave him a near suffocating sense of claustrophobia.
“Daaaaamn,” Toby grinned. “I used to go to parties there, back in high school, and every single one of those houses was loaded. It’s like ten apartments put together and more. You gotta pool? Cause if you do, I might just have to invite myself over.” It did make him wonder how Shane could afford a place in Overlook, but maybe his club was even bigger than he let on. Or maybe he was just willing to blow all his savings, knowing that they might not survive the summer. Toby preferred to think he’d somehow become a millionaire, even if that seemed improbable. “We’re gonna have to start meeting at your place, just so you know.”
Shane had thought about letting everyone meet at his place, he wasn't sure they'd ever need it but it felt good to know he could accommodate anyone if they needed to spend the night. It was in a way like a safe house, not even rented in his name, though if the AIR goons were paying attention and already knew who he was then all bets were off on how safe they really were. He didn't think there was much risk there, he'd changed his name years ago and his rentals were made through a shell company. The only real threat he felt he faced was the fact AIR might figure out who he was if they knew any of the people he was associating with. People like Neil and Toby who had never left town. "I do have a pool," he said with a little grin. "But I also have a live in boy-toy who doesn't need to know about my business here. I'll let you know when he leaves."
“Killjoy,” Toby groaned. “And here I thought we might have some fun while we plan our deaths.” He was being overly dramatic, but also felt there was a chance he was spot on. They’d been lucky to survive when they escaped the first time. He had a hard time believing that AIR would let themselves be taken down by the exact same group that had demolished them as kids. But then it didn’t seem that they’d learned from the past, so what did he know? “Obviously, I’m not in a hurry for us all to get together, since that feels a little bit like the start of our impending doom, but I’m also curious to see how it’ll go.” It wouldn’t be a party, per say, but it seemed a little like a homecoming, even if he’d never actually left.
"Toby," Shane drawled with a little grin. "I promise you can come swim at my place at least once before we all die heroic deaths at the hands of AIR." He checked his phone again for the time, but unlocked it to open up his contacts. "Give me your number, you're one of the harder people to get a hold of with your job and all." Dropping by worked better with the others, their jobs meant they were easy to find and even easy to talk to at their jobs save for Diego who didn't have one save for being a stay at home dad. "You've got two jobs, right?" He'd never understand how Toby would willingly work at a hospital but then he hadn't been locked away for six years at AIR so that very possibly played a role there.
AIR had most definitely played a role in Toby’s decision to go into healthcare, but for a very different reason than why Shane avoided them. As a child, he’d used his abilities to help them escape, but he couldn’t shake the thought that he’d also had a hand in bringing about the deaths of everyone working at AIR. Not like Shane had obviously, but he’d always wondered if all those people had really needed to die. As an adult, he wanted to use his abilities to help people, as if saving them could help make up for the ones he’d allowed to burn. Luckily, he actually liked the work. It gave him a sense of purpose and he was damn good at it. Toby rattled off his number, smiling when he was sure Shane had it in his phone. “My primary job’s at the hospital. The other was intended to be short term, but it’s kind of lasted longer than I expected and I don’t want to put them in a bind so… I tell myself I’m saving up for a vacation. So I’ll be ready to go when this is all over.”
It didn't even occur to Shane to give his number to Toby and he slipped his phone in his pocket when he'd saved the information. He was terrible with answering phone calls and messages tended to get lost in the ocean of unread ones. The flood had slowed down since he left Chicago thankfully but just the thought of going through his inbox was daunting so he didn't. "Well I bet you look adorable in your little scrubs," he muttered and grinned. "Let's stay in touch. Maybe you can come watch when Diego and I figure out how to master fire in zero gravity."
“Send me a text with your info and we’ll talk again soon,” Toby said, just to remind Shane that he couldn’t keep in touch without them. “I’ll come watch you two from a safe distance, and let you know if I foresee a trip to the emergency room or anything like that.” He was mostly kidding, but also not. Fire and zero gravity seemed like a dangerous combination that he only wanted to observe from afar. His type of party had a lot more booze and a lot less danger. Things could get a little wild in a room full of people with extra abilities.
Shane pulled a bit of a 'yikes' expression at the idea of Toby joining them. "We'll invite you along when we know we won't burn the whole place down by accident," he said. "I'm already scared shitless I'm gonna burn Diego up. He says fire in anti gravity is just a fireball that keeps going and going without needing anything to feed on. I don't know if I can control that at all." He did want to try zero gravity himself though, it had to be super nice to float around, kind of like swimming but without that horrible risk of drowning. He pulled his phone out again to send Toby a quick text - since he'd been reminded - and smiled when Toby's phone buzzed. "There you go. Now I can call you when we're ready with a show."
“Yeah, you can try that out and tell me how it goes first,” Toby laughed, perfectly happy avoiding that potential catastrophe. He trusted fire in Shane’s hands, under Shane’s control, but it sounded like that might be put to the test in this scenario, so he’d rather avoid it, thanks. “Perfect,” he smiled, impulsively checking his phone even though he knew exactly who it was that had texted him. “Just be careful. There’s not enough of us for us to start cutting down our numbers ourselves. Plus, I like Diego. He’s cute.” And taken, but that was besides the point. It had never stopped Toby from looking.
"He is cute," Shane agreed. "We're all just a bunch of good looking fuck-ups, aren't we. And I'd never hurt a sweet gay daddy on purpose," he added and while it was somewhat tongue in cheek, he meant it. He wasn't even sure if they'd ever need an anti-gravity fireball but it would be fun to experiment and Shane was always game for a good time. "We're gonna start small, try it in an old fish tank or something like it. I'll let you know how it goes." Maybe they'd take pictures, or a video like Diego had suggested. "Alright, I'm gonna head out. Thanks for the drink." He fished in his pocket for his car keys and twirled them on his finger. "You take care, Toby."
It was clear to Toby that Shane had put some real thought into the experiment, if he was already thinking about fish tanks and ways to protect himself and Diego. That was good, he thought, and it settled his mind a little, less worried about two of his new allies accidentally killing one another. “Anytime,” Toby smiled as he saw Shane to the door. “I promise to be more hospitable next time you show up on my doorstep.” At least he’d been able to rein it in as soon as he knew who Shane was. He just wanted people to stop showing up out of the blue. He was far too jumpy for that kind of shit, at least with AIR around, but hopefully they wouldn’t be for too much longer. “See ya,” he said, giving Shane a wave, then shutting the door behind him.