2020-10-29 - Glow in the dark whats?

The little yard for the cabin is not much in terms of space, but it's enough for a few Adirondack chairs and a fire pit. And that's where Easton's been spending quite a few of his nights when not working at the bar. It's the perfect fall weather, with cool nights that require a fire and no rain. He's learned his lesson from the last time though and has a bottle of whiskey with him for a drink tonight instead of the beer. He's dressed in a large gray hoodie, it has holes around the wrists and has to be nearly a decade old. He has on a pair of warmups instead of his usual jeans and is seated in one of the plastic Adirondack chairs. The firepit is some cheap little hardware store model that will rust out in a year but it gets the job done. In Easton's hand that's not holding the glass of whiskey is a lit cigar. It's rare that he smokes them, but something about the fire and the fall air called for it. Or maybe something else required it.

Now that Easton is back, Bennie's stopped 'appropriating' his jeep for her own usage, and it's getting too dangerous for him to ride the bike on the regular. So, it's on her little cheery turquoise bicycle with the basket on the front with plastic flowers that she pulls up on into the drive, switching side saddle to run out the last bit of momentum before she hops off and leans the bike against the side of the cabin. She's fresh off shift, but had time to shower at the station and change, so her gear is poking out of her large hobo bag as she tugs it out of the basket and slings it over her flannel clad shoulder.

The black and blue checkered pattern sits large on her shoulders, and though long sleeved it's been tied up at the waist and she's still wearing cut off shorts like she's clinging to the last of summer. "Hey babe." She's about to breeze into the house before she notes the cigar and whiskey and her steps draw up short. "What are we celebrating?"

Easton doesn't seem to hear her bike pull up, or at least he doesn't look up from staring at the fire. He's sitting very still, only moving to take a puff or a sip. When she talks though his head snaps up. But then he shakes off whatever thoughts were hovering over him and gives a nod of greeting "Hey". He looks a little confused at the question though, "Celebrating? Nah, just felt like a good night for it." He stops talking and just smiles at her for a moment before asking, "Join me? Maybe grab a blanket?" She maybe clinging to summer but the temps are rapidly dropping.

Bennie doesn't really mean to look suspicious, honest, as she bites the corner of her mouth but then her head bobs and she flashes a quick smile before she ducks inside to grab a glass and a Navajo looking blanket before slipping back outside with Gunner at her heels. Nudging one plastic chair closer to the other she shakes out the blanket to throw it across both their laps as she sinks into her seat along side Easton. Her empty glass lulls aside to be filled. "So where were you just then?" Obviously she means his thoughts and not physically.

The bottle of whiskey is nearly full, which is a good sign and Easton is using an appropriately sized glass as well. He moves things around as she spreads out the blanket and then pours her a glass of the amber liquid. He nods at the question, well aware that he was being a space case. "Banks." He lifts the cigar as if one explains the other, though it's probably not clear which is the cause or effect here. "A cigar 'round a fire pit will always make me think of him." He puffs on the cigar again before turning his head to the side to face her and saying, "Benz." Clearly gearing up to say something. "I saw him over there. Tom. On the other side.." His eyes watch her carefully as he starts to slowly approach the topic. Watching for her reaction as if trying to predict where this is going to go. "I think it's possible I sent his ghost there.. at the funeral." Because Banks is dead. It's something Easton has to keep reminding himself so that he doesn't get too far ahead of himself. He saw Banks ghost. Because Tom is dead. He repeats that in his head and forces himself not to add the 'right?' that so desperately wants to come afterwards.

Bennie makes a little noise of understanding when he first says 'Banks' leaning over to kiss his temple before settling back down and taking a sip of her whiskey and making a little face at the taste but she's slowly been getting used to it, having turned to whiskey in some odd way to honor Easton while he was gone. Her blue eyes seek out his as he expounds, "Do you think it's possible that he had...the shine, when he was alive?"

The fact that she's drinking whiskey with him didn't go unnoticed but he can't completely suppress his smile when she pulls a face. Good to know she hasn't changed too much. He lets his head wobble back and forth, "I've thought about that.. I mean. I think so? When Katherine popped up here it was clear she had it. And I'm wondering if that's what drew us together. And maybe the same with Tom? I mean I didn't know what the hell that feeling was and it certainly wasn't as strong outside of here. But it's possible.." He takes a bigger sip of whiskey and sets down the glass, contemplating it for a bit before confessing, "I want to go look for him. With people. Alexander, Itzie.. " He trails off and looks over at her, "You?" He knows more people would be willing. And it might take a lot of looking or might lead nowhere, but talking about it is a start. And the fact that he's not leaving her out of it is at least progress for him.

There's a little bit of wince around her eyes, echoed in the grimace of her mouth. "Okay. We can look for him as much as you want, but I'd prefer - like, woah - if you didn't go alone. And I also want you to consider the fact that it could have been just a manifestation to screw with you, like the other things you had to endure." So clearly it's not Bennie's preferred way to be spending their new lease on life together, but she's obviously in for the ride. "You know, something Alexander said the other night stuck with me. All of our -ist antagonists? Were apparently once human and died over in the Veil."

Easton catches the look. He didn't exactly expect her to be thrilled about this news but still even that sliiiight hesitation is enough for him to get touchy about it. Because he's very good with these type of things. (No, not really) He replies, "I know." in a firm tone. "I get it. This could all just be another of their myriads of shit to torture us with but Benz.. if it's not?" He doesn't say that you don't leave a Marine behind but that's clearly how he feels about it. He turns back to the fire as she brings up Alexander's theory. "Yeah, he mentioned that. My uncle fits the pattern, bit it over there and became the Psychiatrist. For a while.." He glances back at her and asks, "But that's not what happened to Tom. He died here." Not that she was implying that but he feels the need to clarify, as much for his sake as hers.

Bennie gives a little one-shoulder shrug, not dismissive but just acceptive. "Lower your hackles. You're a Marine, you don't leave a man behind. So, we go. This isn't an if/then situation, I just want to help manage your expectations. Gather your team, and let's go find Tom. I sorta miss my conversations with him, anyways." Even if, technically, it was just the once that they interacted. "For what it's worth, your Uncle tried to help us when we decimated the Asylum. Or the Doctor did, and we just sort of forced his hand. Tomato, tomAHto."

Easton at least has come far enough to know that he's ready to pick a fight over something. And obviously she knows him inside and out as tells him to cool it. "Okay." He accepts that she's on his side. "And I know it might be nothing. But it's going to keep me up." Literally. Not that it takes much to interrupt his sleep but obsessing over this would certainly do it. He looks slightly surprised at the news about Monty, "Really?" He thinks about that for a minute before offering, "Well good for him for not being a complete useless shitbag." He knows that other people held much higher opinions of his uncle, and maybe they were right, but he's stubborn.

Turning back to the fire he shakes his head with a smile, "Tom really woulda fuckin' loved you." He realizes he needs to clarify, "Real Tom. Not just Ghost Tom, who did."

Bennie rolls the edge of her glass along her lower lip, trying to recall that particular adventure a little more clearly. "I think he just got in too deep, but his heart was in the right place at the end. Little reassurance, I'm sure. You know when I saw him, all zombiefied, my heart stopped for a second because the familial resemblance after losing you was..." Well, too painful to finish that thought, so she takes another drink of the whiskey, no face made this time despite the near gulp of it. At least the mood is lightened for her when she mentions that Tom would have liked her, "More than KK, you think? Not to make this a competition, but it totally is."

"Yeah.." Easton concedes that he didn't know his uncle very well and it's totally possible that there is much more to his story. He winces, not at his drink, but at Bennie's confessions about the resemblance. "Yeah, so I look like a rotting pile of flesh, got it. I promise, I'm hitting the gym and letting Kelly whip me back into shape." Obviously not what she meant but a little humor to hopefully lighten the mood and he does really need to bulk back up (in his opinion). He laughs and says, "Oh, come on. I don't think that's even a fair comparison. KK tried ... but she just never clicked with Tom. Different, different worlds. If you want some competition I'd pit you against Geoff and then ..." He narrows his eyes, really considering it and then grins, "I think you'd edge the hubby out." The smile fades just a touch as he admits, "I still can't believe you won't ever really meet him. It's like I'm waiting for our deployments to sync up or he's just across the country and eventually it'll happen. At least you knew Ghost Tom." Separating him out as a separate person helps. Not to be confused with actual Tom, Whiskey Tom and the new mysterious Veil Tom.

There is a poke in his ribs for that rotting flesh comment, "I got nooo complaints, baby, but anytime you wanna go running you let me know. Gunner can hang in there for a few miles, and then he usually hangs out in the park or on the beach." The gentle giant lifts his head at the mention of his name, tongue rolling out of his mouth as he pants at just the mention of physical exertion and gets a scritch on his head for the effort. "Oh, I've learned long ago not to try and compete with Geoff, we operate on two different plains of existence in the Easton Marshall universe. Apples and oranges. Sometimes I feel the same way about my brother though. You guys would have been thick as thieves, heck, you might have even liked him better. Someone else you could knock around your feelings with."

"Yea, I have a feeling he's going to get all mopey if I try and take him out for an actual run but maybe a light jog?" Easton asks the last part to Gunner who tilts his head like he's trying to figure out why Easton would do that to him. Gunner isn't exactly built for distance running. He shakes his head and says, "Just sayin' that if you want some actual competition in terms of Tom liking you, you'd have to set the bar a little higher." He smiles as she brings up Judd. He doesn't know if he believes her fully that they'd be that close, he'd like to think so. "Yeah, at least we coulda ripped on each other for different branches." (of the armed services) But his smile falters a little bit as he realizes he's come to another point that needs some words. He takes a long sip of the whiskey and then sticks the cigar in his mouth to try and bide himself time to get the words right.

"Hey Benz.." He looks at the fire and lets out a puff of smoke in an almost sigh, "I need to tell you somethin." It doesn't sound good. And she's been put through it by this guy with statements like that, so he doesn't let that sit too long. "It's about your dad." He then turns to look at her, because as much as he doesn't really want to watch what kind of damage this news is going to inflict, he has to. "When we did the deal to get the debt sorted.." He winces and finally can't find an easier way to get to it other than, "He's alive Bennie. He was working with them."

"Somehow I think family gatherings would have turned into, like, pull-up competitions to see who got the bigger piece of dessert." Bennie jokes, but there is a wistful look in her eyes as she talks about theoretical never-going-to-happen interactions between her two favorite men in her life. Even if posthumously for her brother, the second place now defaults to Alexander. It's clear the way she talks about Judd sometimes, it's as if they were twins instead of being born a few years apart.

When he breaks in with 'I need to tell you something', the blonde holds up a finger to tell him to hold, at least until she can down what's left of her whiskey, mutter, "With you when it rains, it pours," steal Easton's cigar for a puff and then makes a continue gesture with a whirl of that pausing finger as she likewise waits for a refill. She hasn't gotten on to him one iota for his drinking, and not just because she's giving him slack after his return from the Veil, but because she doesn't like being a hypocrit.

"Wait. What?" Bennie's starring at Easton with narrowed eyes as if he just started babbling in Farsi.

"Oh shit, yeah it would have ended up Judd and Tom finding they liked each other more than either of us." The light hearted conversation was nice while it lasted but these things are weighing on Easton and he knows now at least that it's better to get them out rather than 'deal with them' which leads to all sorts of terrible decisions on his part.

The line about rain gets a grimace of a smile. She's not wrong. He's not an easy guy, despite the nickname. The fact that she's keeping up with him more in the drinking department does actually go unnoticed. He's aware that she's cutting him slack but less aware that she might have picked up some different habits.

When she questions him, he just nods, slowly, solemnly. "I don't know if they were just screwing with me. I didn't look into it. I wanted to, before everything. Thought maybe I'd hire Mags or Alexander before I told you, just in case. But then I got lost and .. you should know." It's not the only reason he didn't tell her. He wasn't even sure at first that he would ever say anything. But that's gotten fuzzy over the months in the veil and now it's easier to tell himself this version, the version where he always wanted to tell her.

"No, that's..." Bennie shakes her head in disbelief, not the gesture was necessary because the expression is written clearly all over her face. She just looks at him for a long moment, the contours of her face standing out in soft curves in the flicker of the fire, the crackle of the flames filling the void where talking should normally go. The blanket gets peeled off her lap and casually piled fully on Easton's as she stands so she can meander to the far side of the pool of light, "You ever notice that fun sized candy bars are smaller than regular bars? What's so fun about that?"

Easton watches her reaction, with only an inkling of how awful and difficult all of this must be to hear. He accepts the blanket but after a moment, piles it back on her chair and stands. He tosses the spent cigar end into the fire and takes his glass as he moves to stand next to her, his shoulder touching hers. He faces the fire and doesn't seem at all confused when she suddenly brings up candy bars. He just agrees with all seriousness, "Nothing. There is abso-fucking-lutely nothing fun about that." The candy bars. Obviously. What else would he mean?

"Maybe the profit margin for the manufacturers, but screw them. We're giving out full sized candy bars for the trick or treaters this year." Halloween is only a few days away, and while normally she'd be preoccupied by trying to figure out clever matching costumes for them and no doubt sewing them herself, it must have just occurred to her that things have been so crazy lately, the holiday almost slipped under the radar. Either way, she seems appreciative for the time to sort through her thoughts about the Dad Issue, because her head tilts and takes up residence on his shoulder as they stand side by side.

Then, quietly, "Will you help me find him? I have almost fifteen years of misery to take out on his ass." Ass even, not hiney or some other cute non-cussword version.

"Damn straight we are." Easton agrees with all seriousness of someone agreeing to wage ware against the dental health of small children. "Full sized candy bars for the kids, and little bottles of liquor for the adults." Because they deserve to have a good night too. He wraps an arm around her shoulder as she leans against him. Not rushing her to process what it was he just said. If she wants to bring it up a day or two weeks from now that's fine too. Goodness knows he'd probably fall into a bottle over anything like that.

"Of course." There's no world in which he's going to willingly let her do that alone. He nods and says, "Take your time with it. It might hit you different in the morning. And that's okay." He gets the initial reaction. He'd happily see this guy suffer the wrath of Bennie's abilities, but he also knows Bennie's not a soldier and it's still her dad. That might change things. Maybe.

"Mm." Bennie says as if she'll consider sleeping on it, but doesn't seem convinced that her mind will changed by then. She curls into the one armed embrace tucking her nose behind his ear. The warmth of him against the chill of the evening has its own gravitational pull and the tuck becomes an experimental nuzzle. "You know..." She starts with a soft lob, dotting the words with a light kiss to the pulse in his throat, as if trying to butter him up for something. "I bought a whole box of glow in the dark skeet clays I've been dying to use. Let's grab a couple rifles and head to the beach."

Adding darkly, "I have to work on my aim."

Happy to have her cuddling up to him Easton leans back against her. His eyebrows lift at the first 'you know' and his mind is already trying to figure out how sturdy those Adirondack chairs are as she starts to kiss his throat. But then it takes an unexpected left turn. He is struck silent for a few moments after, not immediately responding, just staring into the fire. He finally informs her, "I'd love to but that just made my dick so hard I don't think I can walk right now." Yeah, her unexpectedly wanting to go shooting on the beach apparently really does it for Easton. But with a quick movement he finishes his whiskey and is apparently ready to go.

"Your aims just fine if you pick your shot." And if she uses a shotgun.

He probably needs to talk to Joey before they go kicking other hornets nests when Joey already has his hands full. But that can wait.