Knock Out (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
doctorofmedicine) wrote2013-11-02 06:58 pm
doctorofmedicine) wrote2013-11-02 06:58 pm
nano snippet
Well, one thing Irvine had told him about was true: Finding parking in Cyberton was a nightmare.
Pretty much any neighborhood in this place seemed to be a bad neighborhood, so Jacob wasn't too thrilled to have to park three blocks away just to get something to eat; he probably should have just brought lunch with him. Hell, he probably shouldn't have bothered bringing in his car at all.
But he was attached to her! He'd just... underestimated the traffic situation around here, a little bit.
Things were more expensive around here, too, but that didn't bother him much. He wasn't really hurting for money, though he wasn't rich, either. Besides, he'd already had a little time to get used to it, hanging around Team Prime's base, talking shop with the others... They'd helped find him a small apartment; though Irvine had insisted he wouldn't mind having a roommate, Jacob had demurred, wanting a space of his own.
Basically living in the base for a week was enough. He hadn't been a fan of living close-quarters with his teammates in a long time. He always felt better when he had a little distance.
This group, though... They were pretty decent. Optimus was the guy in charge, and Jacob had never thought much of the guys in charge, and Ratchet was a real grouch, but Irvine -- Bulk -- he was an old friend, Bumblebee seemed like a good kid and Arcee reminded him a little bit of himself, all sharp edges but some real decency underneath.
They weren't gonna be too bad to work with. No Wreckers, sure, but with Bulk around it'd be almost like the old days, and it was always good to see some of the old guard still kicking.
He was musing on that as he made his way back to his car, when he spotted the guy crouched beside it. Alarm bells instantly went off, and he picked up his stride a little, trying to still come off casual, confident, assured.
"Hey."
Not a punk kid, he registered as he got closer; the guy looked... kind of weird, actually, but definitely not some street thug. Deep red suit jacket, red hair, and he didn't actually seem to be doing anything to Jacob's car -- just looking it over, for some reason.
Jacob subsided some, but still gave the man a skeptical look. "What do you think you're doing?"
The man glanced back at him, then stood, turning to give him a smile, and Jacob faltered, just a little. Punk, not a punk, it was kind of hard to tell. The suit was definitely pretty nice, and he even had a tie, and his hair was short and neat. But he had red eyes, and piercings; not just a pair of earrings, but about five or six pieces of metal in his ears, and a couple small, gold rings to one side of his lower lip.
Weird, Jacob decided. He'd hold off on further labeling for now, but the guy was definitely weird.
"Just taking a closer look." He had a rich voice, too, cultured; it was like whenever Jacob thought he could get a bead on him, suspicious, well-off, punk, refined, he just tossed out something else to catch him off guard, have him trying to reassess. And it had been all of fifteen seconds or so, cripes.
The man put one hand on his hip, and gestured toward Jacob's car with the other, glancing back at it for a moment. "This is one beautiful car you have here. Obviously not a real Stratos; did you have it modded, or do the work yourself?"
And apparently he was also an automobile enthusiast. Right. Jacob decided to just roll with it.
"Did most of it myself," he said, a little cautious. "Some of the early work, I had other people fixing her up. Watched and learned."
"Well, it is a delight to see such fine modwork." The man held out a hand, arching a brow at him. Jacob honestly couldn't tell if he was being straight with him, or ironic or mocking or what. "And you are...?"
Jacob squinted at him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" But he reached out, gripped the guy's hand for a second, gave it a shake -- slightly surprised by how firmly it was gripped back. "...Jacob Mallory."
"Lucas." He was rewarded with another smile as the man -- Lucas -- let go. "Lucas Owen."
"Well, Lucas," his hand released, he went for his keys, already a little restless. "It's good to meet you and all, but I need to try getting to my apartment before the movers get there first. Don't just want my stuff sitting around."
"You new to the city, then?" Lucas graciously stepped out of his way, as he went to unlock the door. "Should have guessed; people who've been here for a while don't tend to drive."
"I don't like public transport." He shrugged, slipping into the driver's seat. He hesitated for a moment, then closed the door, starting the car up and rolling down the window. He was pretty rude, yeah, but not that rude, and Lucas was... nice enough. Friendly. "Besides, it'd be a shame to just leave her sitting around, and I couldn't bring myself to sell her."
"That would be a crime," Lucas agreed. To Jacob's surprise, he pulled out his wallet, slipping something out of it before putting it away again, and taking a pen from somewhere inside his jacket. Jacob craned his head a little to see what he was doing, as he let the card rest against the car door for a moment and he scribbled something down.
"My card," he said smoothly, after a moment, offering it to Jacob through the window with a grin that said that, yes, he knew exactly how cheesy that line was, and that he enjoyed it.
Jacob glanced at the front of it, and his eyebrows went up. "No offense, Luke, but I don't think I'm gonna be looking for any 'tattoos, piercings, or body modifications' any time soon." Well, that explained all the metal in the guy's face, though the suit now seemed a bit odd.
Lucas chuckled. "My cell phone number's on the back," he explained. "If you like, once you get settled in, I can buy you a drink. To welcome you to our beautiful city."
He resisted the urge to glance around, the better not to show what he thought about that 'beautiful city'. "Right. Moving a little fast, aren't you?" he joked, and couldn't hide his surprise at the considering look Lucas gave him for that.
"Just being friendly," Lucas assured him, and smiled, slow, in a way Jacob found himself having a hard time looking straight at without feeling weirdly embarrassed and exhilarated. He glanced frontwards, as if considering pulling out, and Lucas stepped back to let him maneuver out of the parking space more easily without having to worry about accidentally hitting him. "Besides, with three hundred thousand or so people in this city, my odds of finding one particular new boy -- not so great."
"I'm not a kid," Jacob protested, looking back at him indignant. Luckily, Lucas's smile was more amused, now, a little easier to look at.
"Of course not," he soothed, and Jacob settled again slightly, almost despite himself. This guy was personable, it was weird, he was weird, but it was hard not to like him at least a little bit. "Still. If you ever want that drink, just give me a call."
Pretty much any neighborhood in this place seemed to be a bad neighborhood, so Jacob wasn't too thrilled to have to park three blocks away just to get something to eat; he probably should have just brought lunch with him. Hell, he probably shouldn't have bothered bringing in his car at all.
But he was attached to her! He'd just... underestimated the traffic situation around here, a little bit.
Things were more expensive around here, too, but that didn't bother him much. He wasn't really hurting for money, though he wasn't rich, either. Besides, he'd already had a little time to get used to it, hanging around Team Prime's base, talking shop with the others... They'd helped find him a small apartment; though Irvine had insisted he wouldn't mind having a roommate, Jacob had demurred, wanting a space of his own.
Basically living in the base for a week was enough. He hadn't been a fan of living close-quarters with his teammates in a long time. He always felt better when he had a little distance.
This group, though... They were pretty decent. Optimus was the guy in charge, and Jacob had never thought much of the guys in charge, and Ratchet was a real grouch, but Irvine -- Bulk -- he was an old friend, Bumblebee seemed like a good kid and Arcee reminded him a little bit of himself, all sharp edges but some real decency underneath.
They weren't gonna be too bad to work with. No Wreckers, sure, but with Bulk around it'd be almost like the old days, and it was always good to see some of the old guard still kicking.
He was musing on that as he made his way back to his car, when he spotted the guy crouched beside it. Alarm bells instantly went off, and he picked up his stride a little, trying to still come off casual, confident, assured.
"Hey."
Not a punk kid, he registered as he got closer; the guy looked... kind of weird, actually, but definitely not some street thug. Deep red suit jacket, red hair, and he didn't actually seem to be doing anything to Jacob's car -- just looking it over, for some reason.
Jacob subsided some, but still gave the man a skeptical look. "What do you think you're doing?"
The man glanced back at him, then stood, turning to give him a smile, and Jacob faltered, just a little. Punk, not a punk, it was kind of hard to tell. The suit was definitely pretty nice, and he even had a tie, and his hair was short and neat. But he had red eyes, and piercings; not just a pair of earrings, but about five or six pieces of metal in his ears, and a couple small, gold rings to one side of his lower lip.
Weird, Jacob decided. He'd hold off on further labeling for now, but the guy was definitely weird.
"Just taking a closer look." He had a rich voice, too, cultured; it was like whenever Jacob thought he could get a bead on him, suspicious, well-off, punk, refined, he just tossed out something else to catch him off guard, have him trying to reassess. And it had been all of fifteen seconds or so, cripes.
The man put one hand on his hip, and gestured toward Jacob's car with the other, glancing back at it for a moment. "This is one beautiful car you have here. Obviously not a real Stratos; did you have it modded, or do the work yourself?"
And apparently he was also an automobile enthusiast. Right. Jacob decided to just roll with it.
"Did most of it myself," he said, a little cautious. "Some of the early work, I had other people fixing her up. Watched and learned."
"Well, it is a delight to see such fine modwork." The man held out a hand, arching a brow at him. Jacob honestly couldn't tell if he was being straight with him, or ironic or mocking or what. "And you are...?"
Jacob squinted at him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" But he reached out, gripped the guy's hand for a second, gave it a shake -- slightly surprised by how firmly it was gripped back. "...Jacob Mallory."
"Lucas." He was rewarded with another smile as the man -- Lucas -- let go. "Lucas Owen."
"Well, Lucas," his hand released, he went for his keys, already a little restless. "It's good to meet you and all, but I need to try getting to my apartment before the movers get there first. Don't just want my stuff sitting around."
"You new to the city, then?" Lucas graciously stepped out of his way, as he went to unlock the door. "Should have guessed; people who've been here for a while don't tend to drive."
"I don't like public transport." He shrugged, slipping into the driver's seat. He hesitated for a moment, then closed the door, starting the car up and rolling down the window. He was pretty rude, yeah, but not that rude, and Lucas was... nice enough. Friendly. "Besides, it'd be a shame to just leave her sitting around, and I couldn't bring myself to sell her."
"That would be a crime," Lucas agreed. To Jacob's surprise, he pulled out his wallet, slipping something out of it before putting it away again, and taking a pen from somewhere inside his jacket. Jacob craned his head a little to see what he was doing, as he let the card rest against the car door for a moment and he scribbled something down.
"My card," he said smoothly, after a moment, offering it to Jacob through the window with a grin that said that, yes, he knew exactly how cheesy that line was, and that he enjoyed it.
Jacob glanced at the front of it, and his eyebrows went up. "No offense, Luke, but I don't think I'm gonna be looking for any 'tattoos, piercings, or body modifications' any time soon." Well, that explained all the metal in the guy's face, though the suit now seemed a bit odd.
Lucas chuckled. "My cell phone number's on the back," he explained. "If you like, once you get settled in, I can buy you a drink. To welcome you to our beautiful city."
He resisted the urge to glance around, the better not to show what he thought about that 'beautiful city'. "Right. Moving a little fast, aren't you?" he joked, and couldn't hide his surprise at the considering look Lucas gave him for that.
"Just being friendly," Lucas assured him, and smiled, slow, in a way Jacob found himself having a hard time looking straight at without feeling weirdly embarrassed and exhilarated. He glanced frontwards, as if considering pulling out, and Lucas stepped back to let him maneuver out of the parking space more easily without having to worry about accidentally hitting him. "Besides, with three hundred thousand or so people in this city, my odds of finding one particular new boy -- not so great."
"I'm not a kid," Jacob protested, looking back at him indignant. Luckily, Lucas's smile was more amused, now, a little easier to look at.
"Of course not," he soothed, and Jacob settled again slightly, almost despite himself. This guy was personable, it was weird, he was weird, but it was hard not to like him at least a little bit. "Still. If you ever want that drink, just give me a call."