riverviewlogs | ( open ) so darling, save the last dance for me

[ Makes him a bit queasy, is all. Very practical, though, he'll give it that. It's just not as smooth as the transporters he's so used to. ]

I do, actually. [ Hopefully Billy doesn't mind the lack of helmets, because Jim, unsurprisingly, has none. He leads the way out of the guard, greeting people on the way, and motions to the PX70 waiting outside. ] There she is.

( he still wears a helmet on his own bike. granted, he rides through new york, so. a little different than riding one through a moon that isn't completely full of new yorkers. yet. less crazy drivers to get knocked over by. and it'd be a little uncool to ask for one. )

Is it really me taking you for drinks if you're taking us?

( not an objection, he's still following. )

[ Jim does have a couple of helmets, to be fair. Victor's a little more of a stickler for safety, so he always tries to wear a helmet when going out for rides with him. He doesn't always wear one on a day-to-day basis, though. Still, even if he did, he wouldn't have thought to bring an extra along for Billy today. ]

You're still buying the drinks, right? [ He shrugs. Semantics, really. He gets on the bike, slipping on a pair of gloves and goggles while nodding for Billy to hop on behind him. ]

Yeah, of course. The drinks are still on me.

( as long as he doesn't make an embarrassment of himself getting onto this bike or holding on because all pets are off then. but billy--doesn't. he swings a leg over the back of the bike, scoots in close and wraps both arms around jim's waist. just in case.

also because this is really nice and he's maybe a few moments away from being embarrassing again but look, billy's biting his tongue, he's not saying anything!! )

[ Jim would've insisted he held on tight anyway, so smart move there. His bike goes pretty fast, he wouldn't want to risk Billy getting hurt.

The bike's also pretty loud, so less of a chance that Billy might embarrass himself once Jim starts revving up the engine. ] Hold on! [ Once he's sure Billy's doing as he tells him, he kicks the bike off the stand, then starts speeding down the street. ]

( there are other ways to be embarrassing. arms wrap tight around jim's midsection when he calls out, gripping on as hard as he can without it. being painful or anything, that's definitely not his intention here. billy presses in close, rests his cheek against jim's shoulderblade and tightens the grip of his legs on the bike itself.

he. gives an attempt to speak but it doesn't really work over the sound of the engine so that doesn't get him anywhere. instead, billy just wears the big smile on his face, closes his eyes. )

[ If Billy happens to hold on a little too tight, Jim doesn't seem to mind. He did tell him to do just that, after all, and since the bike goes pretty fast, the closer he stays the safer he is.

Jim speeds down the streets, slowing on the turns though not making any less noise. There are a few bars he likes around here, so he picks one with a more vintage vibe to it, the kind with guitars and bike parts hanging off the walls, and old classics playing in the background. He stops just outside, turning off the engine before taking out his goggles. ]

Here. How's this for a spot?

( his grip's tight enough to show he's never been on a bike like this before, unsure of what to expect and definitely erring on the side of caution but not tight enough to. bruise or show actual panic. billy has taken on things much, much more frightening than a motorcycle before, even if they managed to fall off (he doubts it, jim kirk is driving), billy is more than capable enough to catch them both before any injuries come out of it.

the bike comes to a stop and he's opening eyes billy hadn't realized were closed to begin with, smile on his lips and heart thumping hard in his chest. his gaze focuses forward on the bar itself, before he sslowly moves to disentangle himself with jim, swinging a leg back over the bike to climb off. )

Looks good to me. ( not the style of bars he generally goes with himself but he doubts jim cares for. younger generational stuff and billy's not against trying something new. ) I've got my wallet ( er. smartphone. ) and plenty of time for as long as you want to hang out.

[ Jim's not really averse to other types of bars either, he just figured that this is a nicer spot for late afternoon drinks than a place with loud music and dancing. He's not so old that he can't enjoy those kinds of bars too, in fact he goes every once in a while with Victor, but it's just a different vibe than what he's going for. ]

Well, I need to be home for dinner, but I still have a few hours before then. [ He heads inside and finds them a private booth by the corner, where they're unlikely to be disturbed. ] You live at the Sanctum Sanctorum too, right?

( and billy makes himself comfortable on the other side of the booth, takes out his phone and sets it down on the table in front of him face-down. folds his arms over the table to lean in closer. )

I live at the Sanctum sometimes? I have an apartment I share with my brother, too. When he bothers zipping around. ( and makes a huge mess out of everything. as speedsters do and all. )

Right, Tommy. [ He plucks one of the menus between them. There's another one for Billy to help himself to, if he feels like going for something a little less standard. ]

How's he doing? After that whole... cult mess. How are you doing, for that matter?

He's--fine. Disappeared for a bit but came back eventually.

( no menus necessary, billy knows what he's getting. )

I went back to my own side of the multiverse for a bit after--kinda. Went through some things a. . well. A little worse, but I'm still okayish.

( all things considered. being kidnapped's a little less on his mind after that whole, being possessed by something mildly more terrifying, his body being used in some alternate future to destroy near-everything. but stuff goes on. )

How have you been?

I'm glad to hear.

[ He gets that need to go away sometimes, even if he's not particularly prone to doing it, himself. Not anymore, at least. He finds his comfort at home with his family rather than in solitude, these days. ]

Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that things can get a lot worse, isn't it?

[ In Jim's world, Billy's, or any other's. Things get complicated here, but by comparison they're fairly easy to handle. ]

Oh, I'm alright. The kidnappings got to my little girl a lot more than they did me, since she was taken too. But she's tough. She's all good now.

Yeah. I mean, it's--sometimes things happen and they seem like the worst possible thing to happen, but life goes on.

( a small lift of his shoulders. everything seems world-ending when you're young. in billy's case, a shitton of it was close to world-ending, but--they're still here. universe hasn't imploded in on itself yet. )

You have kids?

( mildly surprised not that it's. bad. what's bad is that a kid got taken along with the rest of them. those cultists were monsters but going that far with children is. . well. plenty that it definitely would have pissed billy off to the point of going too far, if he'd known earlier. )

Something worse can always happen.

[ Tempting fate a little, there. But still true. Maybe more in Jim's case, since he has seen world-ending but not universe-ending, at the very least. Things can always get worse— it's a good thing to remember, particularly when bouncing back from bad stuff. ]

Ah— just the one. She's adopted. Actually... she's from the same universe as my boyfriend, in a way. She was here with her grandmother, but when her grandmother left Victor took her in.

[ It's probably too long and too complicated a story to get into the details, but that's the gist of it. ]

( he's seen kids around on the moon. given--the comings and goings of most residents, billy handn't really stopped to think about where some of those kids from from. a younger laura's here, but--wolverines are a bit different. )

That's nice of him. Your boyfriend, I mean. And you. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her, being left here when her grandmother went home.

( little kids shouldn't be left on their own. especially not on a weird moon. he's heard there are caseworkers for those occurrences, but still. )

So you've settled in here pretty nicely.

[ There are guardians, social workers, things like that— but it's still tough. Average kids wouldn't adapt so easily. Laura's a particular case, considering her background, but Jim knows Lucy wouldn't have done as well if she'd ended up here on her own. ]

Honestly? It was complicated, at first. We had a pretty rocky start, and she didn't like me a lot. And Victor and I had just started dating when she moved in with him... [ Like, literally for just a few days. ] It was a little tough. But I liked him, and I wasn't ready to give up on that so easily.

[ He smiles softly, and nods at Billy's question. ] I'm glad I stuck with it. And yeah, I do feel pretty settled.

( open ) so darling, save the last dance for me

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