Who: John Constantine + Adam Young + Lo What: Meeting, puppies When: Thursday 6/13 Where: A park, a walk, and Lo's office Rating: PG Status: Complete
John was pretty sure there was something wrong with him.
He'd moved to California to get away from all the sameness that Liverpool had been offering lately. He supposed, in a way, he'd managed that very well. Possibly too well.
Because not even three weeks later, he'd somehow volunteered to watch and keep a puppy for a teenager that he didn't actually know beyond some words on a computer screen. Fuck, he hadn't even known the kids' name before he'd blurted it out in a rush of words over the mobile the other day.
Drinks for birthdays were one thing. Puppies were completely another. Still, there was no turning back now -- so John decided all at once that he'd blame the internet. That mess of screen, keys and wires had turned him completely upside down in more ways than one recently.
Fucking internet.
Oh well. He lit a new cigarette as soon as he'd made up from down in the city and found the location of the park he was meant to be at. Taking a slow drag, he looked around for park benches and teens that looked vaguely wayward. Well, just one teen. He wasn't a creep, and he really just wasn't looking to pick children up at a park ground.
Although he supposed it might seem like that. Fuck.
It hadn’t occurred to Adam until he was already at the park that he really didn’t know what this guy looked like, and by then it was a bit too late. Still, he was sure that they’d figure out who each other were. Probably. What wasn’t worrying him in the slightest was that here was some bloke he’d met on the internet who offered to buy him drinks for his birthday. Any normal person would be more than a little cautious, but then Adam wasn’t a particularly normal kid.
His leg shook as he sat on his bench, the usual excess of energy that so often got him into trouble or yelled at. Choosing to sit on a bench was the worst idea. He should have gone with a swing, at least then he’d be able to spin himself around or something. For about the millionth time, he wished he had a cell. At least he’d be able to check the time or have something to fiddle with. Since he didn’t, he had to settle with looking around restlessly, hoping to spot someone who might possibly be this John fellow.
As he scanned the park, he noticed someone who looked a bit out of place. Definitely didn’t fit the surroundings or looked like he belonged here at all. Deciding to chance it (because really, sitting down was proving fucking boring), Adam hopped up from his seat and raised an arm to wave and headed over. There might have been a slight bounce in his step, but that was because he’d been sitting and there was law-breaking in his future.
“John,” he called out a bit questioningly as he got closer.
None fucking other, in fact. John tore his gaze away from a fellow playing guitar some fifty feet away -- (kind of shit at it, too, if he had to give an opinion) -- landing instead on the kid walking up to him. Bouncy, a little ramped up. There was no blaming the kid for that, of course. He was getting free drinks and a dog out of this equation. And from a bloody stranger, no less!
"Adam then, yeah?" he greeted once the boy had walked close enough where John didn't feel he'd have to raise his voice. He grinned, a half crooked sort of thing, and took another drag from his smoke. "Cheers, mate. Was worried I'd look a fucking creep standing around in this park looking at kids." John? John could be a blunt motherfucker when he so chose. Which was most of the time.
"I'm not, by the way. Christ." Very blunt.
The words had Adam snorting, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth so he didn’t lose it completely. Of course, all of their conversations had been entertaining for Adam so far, but it was different to actually hear the words out loud and watch the expressions.
“‘Course. Just looking to pick up one kid, right?” He gave John a lopsided grin of his own.
"Right, yeah, just the one really." John rolled his eyes and then fixed Adam with a proper squinty-type stare before shrugging and gesturing with a nod of his head the way out of the park. They had places to be, and all that sort of nonsense. He flicked his smoke away, and then dug through the pockets of his slacks for a replacement.
Once his new fag was lit, he gave the boy a raised eyebrow -- all sarcasm and good humor and no seriousness to be found. "You're not some kind of cop, are you?" Hey, if he was going to meet someone awkwardly, he might as well get all the bad jokes out of the way early.
Grinning still, Adam fell into step with John, shoving his hands into his pockets and affecting his usual slouch. It was the way he was comfortable walking, and if anyone had a problem with it? Well fuck ‘em. That was their issue, not his. He never listened when his foster parents told him to stand up straight, or his teachers either.
The question threw him off a bit, though. He looked over at John, frowning a bit in confusion. “Uh, no? Why?” He wasn’t sure where this was going. Seemed pretty random.
“Nevermind. Bad joke.” John had those sometimes, between all the snark and the fuck-you. Couldn’t win them all, right? His own walk was lacking in any slouchiness - Constantine oozed confidence with a vague air of nonchalance. It wasn’t really a look too many people got away with. Especially when they were equally awkward in their own right. “So --er. Where are we going for this dog?” He’d just started walking. It could very well have been in the other direction for all he knew.
“Oh. Right, sorry.” Well that was awkward. Shit. He hunched his shoulders a little more. This time definitely out of a lack of confidence. Now he was a little nervous. But thankfully that didn’t last too long, as the subject shifted so did his nerves and energy. His bounce back showed up physically too as he hopped once on the balls of his feet. “Right, puppy, yeah.”
He pulled a hand out of his pocket and ran it through his hair, glancing around to reorient himself. “The bloke’s office is off in that direction,” he pointed off in the distance. “It’s [address]. Said he’d be there all day.”
Glancing in the direction Adam was pointing in, John just gave a shrug. He didn't know the area, but he assumed they'd get there when they got there. Not like he had much better to do, and he'd always been a fan of walking. So they walked.
"So some bloke's just giving you a puppy? Fucks' sake, eh? This really is just the land of the free." Bad jokes? Oh yeah, John had a million. He'll be here all night. Tip your waiter.
Walking was something Adam was very used to. He didn’t have a license, he never had enough money to take a taxi, and only ever just enough for bus fare. Besides, he was always more at home outdoors.
He shrugged a shoulder at John’s words. “Yeah, s’pose. He said he didn’t think he’d be able to keep it, so he offered it up. I can’t really keep him either though, so...” He threw John a cheeky little grin. “Promise I’ll help take care of it, though. I always wanted a dog.”
But what he was really saying was that John was getting a dog out of the deal, and Adam was going to help babysit now and again. He was definitely going to be the one to name the thing, damnit. “That’s fine. Whatever works, yeah?” Nonchalance was the only thing that was going to work for this. It was cool. He was cool. Cool. He flicked a cigarette butt into the street and didn’t bother lighting a new one as they found the building they were looking for.
Adam breezed on into the building, having visited previously to make sure he knew where it was and all. He went right on up to the desk in the lobby and, leaning on it, smiled at the girl (he thought her name was Shanna). Never let it be said he couldn’t be charming when he wanted to be. And he really did have a nice smile. When he felt like it. “Hey, we’re here to see Lo about the puppy.”
Lo looked up when he heard a knock on his door, but didn’t stop typing. “Come in,” he called out. Said puppy was rolling around on the floor with Lucy, the world’s tiniest Yorkshire terrier, happily chewing on a rawhide.
Crossing his legs, Lo sat back from his laptop, waiting for the boy to open the door.
Adam pushed the door open, peeking his head around before sliding the rest of the way into the room. “Hey,” he nodded in greeting to Lo. And then his attention was taken by the dogs. Which is completely understandable. They are adorable, and he is still a boy.
He entered the office completely, leaving the door a bit open for John to come in, and squatted down by the dogs, letting them sniff him before petting them. It didn’t really occur to him to introduce the two men. After all, he was a teenaged boy and they were adults. Clearly they would either know each other or be able to do it themselves.
“Christ,” said John, watching Adam go to pet the dogs like some sort of sorry moth to a flame. Kids these fucking days, you know what I’m saying? Oh well. At least he was excited about something proper and good, considering.
He gave a nearly lopsided grin, eyed up the posh looking bloke behind the desk (bit of a looker, if anyone were to ask John, honestly) and shrugged. “Must be Lo, then.” Hand shakies.
Lo couldn’t help but smile as he stood and straightened his tie. “Must I?” He winked at John before looking at Adam. “You’re doing a good thing,” he murmured to John. “If he gets too much to handle, just bring him back here.”
“I’m easy,” John said, glancing at the boy and his high over puppies, and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. This sort of was his good deed of the decade, but he wasn’t about to point that out. “Always kinda wanted one anyway. John, by the way.” Greetings were important.
The conversation and mutterings of the older men was beyond his attention. At the moment, all Adam was interested in were the dogs in front of him. He’d never had one of his own, not when he lived with his parents and not in any of the houses he’s ever lived in since. It was the one thing he’d wanted since he was a kid. What had he gotten instead? Uprooted from his childhood home and then later a broken home.
Still, when he looked at the face of the puppy in front of him, he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad. He grinned as the puppy decided that it no longer wanted belly rubs and instead tried to gnaw on his hand.
Lo smiled despite himself when he saw the boy with the dog. He understood that feeling. Taking John’s hand, he shook it firmly. “Lo.” He offered no first name or last name, just the shortened nickname he’d been called since grade school.
Which was more or less good enough for John, since he’d offered no last name of his own, and it wasn’t exactly like his name was uncommon. “Pleased t’meet,” he said, and was all sorts of down with a firm handshake. It suited a man who looked like he could be all business, in an office like this, anyhow.
He ruined it all though, by toeing Adam with his shoe. “The man’s working. And we have someone’s lawn to go piss on for disowning a pet. C’mon, kid.” Congratulations everyone, you’ve just met Constantine.
Adam looked up at the nudge, blinking as though he just remembered where they were and who was there. He gave a nod and started pushing himself up, reaching out to pet Lucy goodbye and then moving to pick up the little puppy before straightening up entirely. Once he was standing and shifting towards the door, he gave Lo a wide grin.
“Thanks, mate,” he said, lifting the puppy a little. “I’ll make sure he’s taken care of and all.” Yeah, it might have been going to live with John, but that didn’t mean his sense of responsibility (go ahead and laugh) was going to go away. He’d helped find this little guy a home, after all.
Lo smiled. “If either of you need anything - vet bills and all - please, let me know. My sense of responsibility hasn’t ended yet.” He winked at Adam before sitting back down and returning to typing out more contracts.
“Nah,” said John, because apparently there was a whole lot of responsibility spread through this room in sick amounts. “No worries. We’ll watch the pup, have it covered.” And then he was ushering Adam, puppy in arms, out of the room. They had more plans for the day, after all. And they weren’t nearly as responsible.