undergrounds | water's sweet but blood is thicker

I. COMING HOME - [OPEN TO FIRST RESPONSE OF EXISTING CR]
Kyle had told nearly everyone he knew of his returning home to America indefinitely. He didn't tell anyone about his return. The trip home to deal with estate issues, property problems, renter concerns, and so on was basically nothing but work. It broke his heart to be in his childhood home again, even though he still couldn't bring himself to sell it. He both loved and hated the reminder of home and all that he had lost, missing his family more than he could bear for a time. He resolved things surprisingly quickly, and also found himself missing the new life he'd created in London more than he expected.

He took the underground from Heathrow to his area, getting off a couple stops early to walk the rest of the way. He appreciated the crisp air, needed it to clear his head. It was half the reason he'd stayed sane in South Africa, those walks. With his duffel on his back, everything felt more familiar. He missed his unit, his family, his girlfriend. But missing people had never slowed him down before and it sure as hell wouldn't now. Which is why he sensed that the person nearby was more than a stranger.

II. DRINK N DRINK N DRINK N FIGHT - [OPEN]
Maybe it was the comments about vampire rights, or maybe it was the way the guy hit on the girl down the bar. Whatever the case, Kyle couldn't help but dislike the asshole and it was only a matter of time before he intervened to shut the guy down. The argument was basically guaranteed and the escalation to physical violence inevitable. The other guy got the first hit, Kyle was quick to return, though his focus was more on defensive moves than offensive. Getting off the X. A few more hits, the asshole's friends cheering him on and Kyle hoping the kindness of strangers would be enough to see him through if need be.

It was the interference of a third party that finally put an end to the pub brawl and Kyle couldn't help but be embarrassed at so easily succumbing to such actions. He was supposed to know how to exercise restraint. He did know. He just didn't like to sometimes.

[Feel free to be the asshole, the intervening party, or to assume the bartender intervened and approach Kyle after.]

III. DID YOU MISS ME - [CLOSED TO NANCY]
Kyle's fight had backfired a little, or a lot, when he was jumped on his way home later. It was a few human civilians against a trained soldier used to fighting vampires. It didn't last long, with the assholes scattering once he put up a decent defense. Still, three against one left him with a few good bruises, a very sore rib cage, and one hell of a bloody and possibly broken nose. There was only one person he trusted that he could turn to, not wanting the hassle of the hospital and potential police involvement.

He sent Nancy a text: Miss me? I'm shirtless and bloody. Come over when you can?. It wasn't the ideal way to tell his friend that he was back in town, but it would have to do.

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He grins despite himself at that, taking a large swallow of his own drink, so far untouched.

"Sorry," he teases back, Kyle's attitude helping reassure him. "This is what you get when you ask someone who isn't an expert. That other guy's lucky someone intervened."

"Good save." Kyle laughs a bit and accepts the new drinks, paying for the both and ignoring that Oliver's barely touched the first. He takes one in his hand, leaving the other ambiguously between them, and returns to icing his face.

"I can't tell if it's the cold or the alcohol, but something's making it hurt less." Another flash of a grin. "Now that we know I won and I'm feeling better, it's your turn to talk."

"Alcohol's good for that," he says, though he doesn't have the experience to know that. He drinks again, figuring he should probably catch up and at least get started on the drink that Kyle bought him.

"What do you want me to talk about?" It's almost a scoff, the way he says it, as though he doesn't quite buy someone wants to hear what he has to say. "I don't have anything as exciting as winning bar fights to tell you about."

"Good. I don't want to talk about bar fights. Let's start with the boring stuff. What do you do, where do you work? Distract me from the pain in my face." He exaggerates his pain for the sake of drawing a response. He's known plenty of guys like Oliver, who expect to be forgettable and don't want to waste peoples' time. He's also known plenty of people to justify those fears and expectations, but he tries not to be one of them.

"You want to hear about my boring IT job?"

Granted, his job is actually something he enjoys now, but the aspects he likes best are things he needs to keep quiet about. The rest of it is standard, boring stuff. It's kind of exciting having things he can't tell people, things he needs to keep to himself though. It makes him feel like a secret agent.

"I'm an IT tech for a school. Nothing too spectacular. Mostly I reset passwords and help people figure out how their phones work."

Okay, when Kyle said boring, he didn't actually expect boring. It's a cool thing to know and might come in handy in the future, with Kyle's own occasional tech issues, or potential tech support in other matters, but it's definitely not glamorous. Not that he's going to say as much.

"Do you like it?" Because really, that's what counts more than what Oliver does. If it pays the bills or if he enjoys it, that's a decent job. Kyle's worked a couple of each, even if his recent jobs would be considered a little more exciting. "I work at a chocolate shop, I'm not judging."

He has to stop and consider that for a moment. It's been a long time since Oliver could honestly say that he likes what he does, but...

"Yeah. I do." It's a satisfying admission. His last job had been so dull he'd probably have stayed back home the last time he'd gone back to America if he hadn't been offered this one. "I bet there's not as many perks as working in a chocolate shop though."

He finishes off his current drink, pulling the one that's been brought for him closer.

"It's all fun and games until you binge, get sick, and don't want to eat another chocolate for a week," he replies in a vaguely warning tone, entirely joking. "Not that I would know. But you hear things."

He totally overdid it for his first couple weeks, but he's learned to scale it back since. On the other hand, he's not sure he can think of too many perks working in IT. Even the military IT crew got tired of the main unit's technical incompetence. What came so easy to them was actually pretty hard for a lot of the guys, but they seemed an endless spool of impatience, unraveling at each call. Come to think of it, Oliver seems a hell of a lot nicer and more patient than most of those others.

"Besides, you're obviously a lot smarter than I am. I barely do math and you're a computer genius."

"I never said anything about being a genius," he laughs, clearly embarrassed. He's smart, sure, and he knows that, but most of the things he's learned are things he's sure pretty much anyone could do if they were interested. Most people aren't. Computers just don't speak to them the way they do him.

"I guess at least I don't have to worry about there being too much temptation to put on weight."

Being at a desk job is sedentary enough he has to push himself to make regular gym trips to stay fit, but junk food isn't there at his finger tips. He's not sure how well he'd do if it was.

"I did," Kyle corrects, happy to help Oliver compensate for his seeming insecurities. "Anyone who can fix computers in any way is clearly a genius. Especially if they do code stuff." A beat. "Do you do code stuff?"

It's an innocent question. All Kyle wants to do is confirm that Oliver's a genius in his mind.

"Selling chocolate is a lot easier. I'm lucky I already have a routine to burn off the sugar," he laughs, taking another sip of his drink. The job is standing, which helps, and the old training does the rest. Especially with his learned moderation. "You learn not to eat it for every meal though. Apparently it's bad for you. Who knew."

Oliver doesn't answer the question immediately, but even the way he presses his lips together to suppress and embarrassed grin probably gives the answer away. Yes, he can code. In multiple languages. Not that he's about to tell him that part.

"Coding really isn't as hard as people think it is," he says by way of admission.

"I'm not sure I'd care if I worked with it," he says, though then again, maybe he'd just get bored. It's hard to imagine, but it's not like he eats it daily. It probably would stop seeming less of a treat if he had such easy access.

Kyle lets the subject of coding go. It's one thing to build people up and another to push them off the ledge into full embarrassment. Oliver seems like he might be nearing the precipice, which tells Kyle he should back off a little.

"It's still cool," he says instead, letting it wind down. "And it's good you don't then. You can come visit and get a free sample instead."

water's sweet but blood is thicker

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