Los Angeles
Alan Bradley's residence

Alan poured a cup of fresh coffee from the pot, then handed it to Kevin, who smiled with raised eyebrows.

"Oh yeah. This'll work. Thanks, man."

He closed his eyes, sniffing the steam which rose from the cup.
It was an aroma he hadn't enjoyed in twenty one years, and next to a strong cup of green tea it was one the things he'd missed the most while on the Grid. He paused, inhaling slowly and then exhaling just as slowly, then just stood there with his eyes closed.

Alan watched him, inwardly chuckling. Of all the people he knew, only Kevin Flynn could possibly find a cup of his rather ordinary automatic-drip coffee to be a spiritual thing.
He grabbed the carton of Half & Half from the fridge, placing it on the counter and sliding the sugar decanter over towards it. "Dash of cream, two sugars."

Kevin's eyes opened, and he raised an eyebrow. "Good memory."

"Some things you just don't forget..." Alan turned and fished out a spoon from the various utensils laying on the drying rack, then he handed it to Kevin with a smirk, "...especially given as many cups of coffee as you finagled me into fetching for you over the years."

Kevin quirked his brow, stirring the sugar into the coffee while a smug grin crept onto his face.

Just then they heard the Ducati roar up into the driveway outside.
Kevin ducked his head to peer out the window, watching as Sam pulled the bike to a stop right where he'd so often parked it himself so many years ago.
He chuckled, clinking the spoon against the cup and setting it down. "Yep,...same spot. There goes the lawn, Alan."

His old friend smiled, waving it off with a chuckle. "Ah, well,...who needs grass there anyway. With Jet gone I have to mow it myself unless I want to pay someone to do it, so, that's one less spot to cut."

Kevin took a sip of coffee and set down the cup, tilting his head.
Jethro Bradley. He'd be just about a year older than Sam now. "How's he doin'?..."

Alan shrugged and sighed, a touch of wistfulness crossing his eyes. "Oh,...busy. Doctorate program, GWU, computer science. Thinks he wants to teach..." he paused, taking a deep breath and then exhaling, hands on hips, nodding. "Yep,...went back to school. Oh, you missed his whole rebel-without-a-cause phase. Thank God we're past that. He was even more of a headache than Sam."

Kevin chuckled, but his eyes grew more serious.
He watched through the window as his grown up son stood on the front walkway, talking on his cell phone.
Then he looked back at Alan. "Sam was a handful, huh?...I'm sure..." his voice trailed off. He took a deep breath and started to speak again, then paused, brow furrowed.
Alan already knew what he was about to say. He gave a knowing look, and a small smile.

"Kevin,...it was a joy raising him - an honor. A challenge sometimes,...sure,...but then so was Jet. All kids are. Sam was a handful, no doubt, but it was to be expected...he missed you, that's all. He didn't understand, didn't know how to cope with it. Now he does."

Kevin nodded, and gave a small wry smile, his eyes misting over.
He took another sip of his coffee, and was silent for a few moments.
Alan filled the silence by pouring himself a cup of coffee, and finally Kevin spoke again, with the usual lighthearted drawl.

"So, Jet, GWU,...why not Cal Tech?"

"Oh, it was a consideration,...but..." Alan paused and gave a slight nod, his lips tightening, "...he chose D.C. so he could be near his mother."

Kevin's brows raised in surprise, and he set the cup down. "Wh-...D.C.?...no, man,...you and Lora?..."

As Kevin's voice trailed off, Alan gave a wry smile and shook his head, chuckling. "No,...no,...it's-...things are... fine, really. Back in the 90's she got offered a position she just couldn't pass up, and, it was only going to short-term, but, short-term turned into permanent. I stayed here, for ENCOM, and,...for Sam."

Kevin stared at him with compassionate look, rendered momentarily speechless. He didn't quite understand what had happened, but he could see from the look in Alan's eyes that revisiting the past or elaborating the details was the last thing the man wanted to have to do. So Kevin just nodded instead.
Now it was even more clear what sacrifices his friend had made for him over the years.
He gave a slight frown, not quite sure what to say.
But then there wasn't time to say anything, because in through the door walked Sam, who stopped in place when he glanced up to see his dad and Alan looking as though they were discussing something serious. Then he looked back and forth between the two of them, and raised his eyebrows.

"What?...what'd I miss?..."

Kevin grinned and gave a half-chuckle. "Nothin' kiddo. Didn't miss a thing."

Alan gave Sam a smirk. "Hey, what took you so long, hot shot? We saw you go past us in a blur on the freeway. Thought you'd have gotten here long before us."

Sam grinned, and looked at Kevin, silently mouthing the words "hot shot".
Then he hiked his thumb in Alan's direction, shaking his head in mock incredulity. "Hot shot?...Who says that anymore?"

Kevin grinned, watching Alan's eyebrow raise. Then he took another sip of coffee and gave Sam a smirky grin, "We do. We're from the dark ages, kiddo. Stop givin' your godfather a buncha' sass."

"Sass?..." Sam grinned ear to ear.

Kevin just chuckled and finished his coffee with a gulp, his eyes suddenly widening as he set the cup down. "Hey, speakin' of 'sass'...where's Clu?"

Alan rolled his eyes. "Oh, probably still in the shower. Between him and Tron, I'm going to be shocked if there's any hot water left."

Kevin chuckled. "Well, if there is, I call the rest of it."

Alan smirked and frowned, crossing his arms. "Oh sure Flynn. No problem. I'll just go shower at the gym."

Kevin laughed, shrugging and shaking his head."Well,...my bad,... Bradley. I thought you had grabbed a shower first, before you showed them around and gave them the whole 'running-water, bathroom-habits' talk thing."

Alan shrugged, rolling his eyes again and walking to set the coffee cups in the sink.

"No, I didn't,... - and thank you, by the way, for saddling me with that charming responsibility,...no, I was going to shower but I decided to let the newly-human types go first, since they were so very enthralled with the concept of water. Tron's upstairs in my bathroom and Clu's downstairs in the guest suite."

Kevin nodded, glancing towards the downstairs hallway where the guest suite was located.
Suddenly his eyes got wider, then he frowned, crossing his arms and raising one hand to slightly cover his face, silently stifling a laugh.
"Guys,...excuse me a minute..." he said in a patient voice, and then he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Alan raised both eyebrows, glancing over at Sam who seemed equally puzzled. He shook his head slightly. "I'm not even going to ask."

Sam's eyes widened and he quietly laughed, as the two of them overheard Kevin's voice from the hallway.

"Clu,...man,...you can't just walk around like that..."

And then an identical voice answered, coming of course from Clu this time.

"Well, I wasn't planning to. I was only going to find Alan-One, to ask about getting more of the cloths for drying. This one didn't go very far."

And, Kevin's voice again. "That's because it's a washcloth, buddy."

At that, Alan's eyes widened as well and he stifled a laugh. Then he called out over his shoulder to the hallway. "I'm sorry,...I forgot there weren't any towels in there. Hall closet, on the right."

Then Sam and Alan both dissolved into silent laughter in the kitchen.
Alan spoke in a hushed voice.

"Our entire morning's been like this. I haven't laughed so much in ages. These guys are hilarious, and they aren't trying to be. It's all just so new to them, even the smallest of things we take for granted."

Just then the kitchen door opened again, and in walked Quorra, wide-eyed and smiling, cradling a large gray cat in her arms.
Seeing her hands were full, Sam stepped over to close the door for her, and she looked at him, grinning.
Then she looked at Alan, suddenly giving a sheepish look. "Oh...is it alright to just walk in? I know knocking is a custom in the User world?"

Alan only nodded, seeming a bit dumbfounded as he stared at the sight of this young woman so casually holding his very large and often-feral old cat. Then finally he spoke, waving his hand absently, still staring at the docile animal who seemed so relaxed in her arms. "Uh,...sure,...that's fine-..."

Quorra smiled down at the cat, and Alan still stood there almost gaping.

"I can't believe Max is letting you hold him. I have to wear oven mitts just to pet him."

Quorra looked from the cat to Alan. "His name is Max?"

Alan nodded. "Yes. Max Headroom, actually. Max for short. I've had him almost fourteen years. He stays outside half the time-, and-..."

He paused, watching as Quorra gently placed the now squirming Max on the floor, and the cat went right to the automatic pet-feeder dish which sat in the corner of the room. Quorra slowly lowered herself into one of the kitchen chairs, still smiling as she watched curiously while the animal ate its food.
Alan shook his head, giving an amused chuckle.

Just then, Kevin came back through the kitchen, gesturing back over his shoulder with a wave.

"He's gettin' it together,...I hope..." He rolled his eyes, looking at Sam. "...can't tell ya' how surreal this is."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. Just a tiny bit."

Clu appeared from the hall doorway just then, wearing only a large bath-towel wrapped around his waist.
He stopped and stood there with wet, disheveled hair and bare feet, looking first at Sam, then at Kevin. "What about the bit?"

Alan leaned over and rested his forehead against the kitchen counter, laughing silently. Kevin tried his best to not even look at Alan so he wouldn't laugh.
Instead he looked over to Clu with a slightly-paternal nod.

"I've got the bit in my jacket pocket, buddy,...'give it back to ya in just a little while. First, what-say we find you somethin' to wear,...okay?"

Clu nodded, and then suddenly glanced over across the room towards the table, for the first time noticing Quorra was sitting there.
She was staring at him from head to toe in surprise, quite unaccustomed to the sight of him this way, and when her gaze landed on his eyes he simply gave her a small grin, raising a smug eyebrow. But her eyes widened and she immediately blushed, turning away quickly and returning her attention to the cat.

Clu chuckled to himself, still grinning smugly until he glanced at Sam who was giving him the stare-down. Then he looked back at Kevin, finally acknowledging his question. "Yes. Sounds like a good idea."

Alan stepped away from the counter. "You know, that reminds me,...'guess I'd better go find something for my double to put on. Otherwise he's probably going to come breezing in here wearing a towel too, and that's just going to be too weird."

Kevin nodded, tapping his fingers on the counter, looking at Alan as he passed by him. "Man,... I know this is a long shot,... but, you-...you didn't by any chance hang onto any of my clothes when they sold mom and dad's place,... did ya?"

Alan nodded matter-of-factly, his face expressionless. "I kept all of them. They're in the closet of the guest room. The rest of your stuff's in storage."

Kevin's eyes went wide, and then he smiled. "Alan, I could kiss you!"

Alan raised an eyebrow, and deadpanned, "Let's not get carried away, Flynn." Then he turned, walking into the hallway and calling back to Kevin. "Come on,...it's down the hall here."

Alan was rummaging through one of the kitchen drawers when Kevin appeared in the doorway, with Clu following right behind him.
The two of them looked like a flashback from 1985.

" Stylish." Alan's wry voice brought a chuckle from Kevin. He ran his hand through hair which was still wet from his shower, and looked down at the clothes he now wore...the closest thing he'd been able to find to compare with the loose fitting clothing he'd worn on the Grid, though it wasn't much of a comparison - a pair of gray parachute pants and a white long sleeved T-shirt with a small embroidered Ocean Pacific logo on it.

"Ya' like?...yeah, 'grabbed the first thing I could find that looked comfy."

Alan glanced past him at Clu, who wore a pair of Kevin's old Levi's and a black Flynn's Arcade T-shirt. He frowned. "Now that's scary."

Clu looked at him, then looked at Kevin, a puzzled expression on his face. He didn't see anything particularly frightening about what he was wearing.
When he'd seen it amongst the shirts in the storage box, he'd specifically asked Kevin if he could wear the shirt, because he knew the arcade had held significance in his Creator's past. And surely Kevin would have told him if there was something 'scary' associated with either the piece of clothing or the arcade.
He looked at Sam, waiting for an explanation.

Sam stood up from the table, and walked past Clu towards the fridge. "Yeah. It kinda is. But, guess we're good as long as he doesn't try to tell me a bedtime story."

Clu looked at him, even more puzzled.
But there wasn't time to ask for clarification, because just then Tron rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen, his tall form looking quite dapper in a pair of Alan's khaki pants and a button-down oxford shirt, a pair of loafers on his feet.

Kevin chuckled. "Speaking of scary,...dead ringer there, right down to the loafs!..." he paused, casting a glance over at the shoes, slacks and oxford Alan himself was wearing, and then he grinned ear to ear. "...haven't changed your look much over the years, Alan."

Alan stopped rummaging through the drawer long enough to scowl and smirk at Kevin, giving a mocking glance towards the very outdated parachute pants he was wearing.

"Hey, Flock of Seagulls,...some things are classic and never go out of style."

Sam spluttered, popping the top on a soda can on his way back from the refrigerator.
He stopped beside them, took a sip, then gestured with the can in Kevin's direction as he spoke.

"...'s okay, Dad,...there's the whole retro 80's thing going on now. Gotta believe those pants'll make a comeback. You're probably good."

He snickered and patted Kevin on the arm as he walked past.
Kevin looked back and forth between Alan and Sam, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah,...well,...point taken. First chance I get, I'll shop for some new threads, okay?"

"AHA!" Alan suddenly exclaimed, closing the cluttered drawer and holding up an old, worn leather glasses case. "There we go! I knew these were in here somewhere."

Opening the glasses case, he removed the old glasses and held them up to inspect them, then cleaned the smudges off the lenses with the small cloth from the case.
Finally he handed the glasses to Tron.

" Here you go. As I promised."

The former program's eyes widened and he smiled.
From the look on his face one would've thought he'd been given the Holy Grail.

"Oh, thank you!...thank you, Alan-One, ...um – I mean, Alan..." He took the glasses and carefully placed them onto his face, adjusting them into position as he'd seen his User do, and then he smiled again.

Alan Bradley couldn't help but grin and shake his head.
It was as though time had rewound itself two decades and he was looking in the mirror. He smiled.

"You're welcome,...Tron."

An hour later...

The kitchen table was now host to a smorgasbord of salad and sandwiches which Sam and Kevin had put together for lunch.
Kevin had made the sandwiches and the salad, relishing the chance to prepare real food again, instead of just digitizing something to simulate actual food. Quorra had sliced honeydew melon, arranging the sliced crescents onto a plate. Sam's contribution had been his specialty - a huge tray of cheese nachos.
Tron and Clu had watched the proceedings, fascinated, having neither seen nor partaken of User food before, and then with a bit of instruction from Kevin the two of them had set the table with plates, silverware, napkins and glasses.

Quorra was just placing the platter of melon onto the table with the rest of the food when Alan came walking in, freshly showered and shaven, and dressed in a pair of soft denim jeans with a white oxford shirt.

When Sam looked up, Alan gave him a proud smirk. "See? I told you. I do too wear jeans."

Sam grinned, shaking his head and raising his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, never doubted you."

Alan walked over to the table, surveying the array of food. "Well. Doesn't this just look fantastic!"

A few moments later they were all seated around the table, each helping their plates with portions of the meal.
Tron watched Alan slice a piece of a honeydew crescent and eat it, and then he emulated just what his User had done, slowly savoring the taste of the sweet melon. When he'd finished chewing and swallowing - a process which thankfully he found was instinctive and seemed to need no instruction - he sat back in his chair and smiled.

"Absolutely amazing. I've never experienced nourishment like this before."

Quorra smiled at him. "You've never had real food, only energy. It's wonderful, isn't it?"

Across the table from them, Clu was quietly trying to figure out just how to ingest the food item they were calling 'nachos'.
The things seemed appealing and intriguing, so he'd placed some on his plate, but when he tried to cut them into pieces with a fork the way Alan and Tron had cut the melon, the chips simply fell apart into the cheese and stuck together. He tried again, with no luck.

Sam was watching his father's young lookalike, and trying not to grin. "Here you go Clu. Best way to eat 'em is with your fingers."
He picked up a chip covered in melted cheese and popped it in to his mouth, crunching. Clu tried the same technique, and indeed it was much simpler. He smiled, and then ate another bite.

Kevin paused in between bites of salad, watching him. "Whaddya' think about all this, Clu?"

Clu nodded while chewing, trying to decide whether he should finish chewing and then answer, or try do both simultaneously.
He decided on the former, and in a moment, replied with a slight nod.

"Very enjoyable. And the cheese is also amusing."

Kevin's eyebrows raised slightly. "Amusing?..."

Clu nodded, reaching for another cheese-covered chip, grinning as he watched the small string of cheese which still connected it to the other chips on his plate. "Yes. Because it stretches."

Kevin just looked at him, a smile slowly forming at the corners of his mouth.
This was like seeing the world through the eyes of a child, all over again, just like he had with Sam so long ago, and it was hard to believe this man was once the same program who'd until recently been a relentless and merciless overlord of the Grid.
As Clu conquered the string of cheese and ate the bite of nachos, Kevin just grinned.

"Yep. It does. I've always liked that about cheese, too."

Clu smiled at Kevin's comment, and then went right back to enjoying his meal intently.

A short while later, everyone had finished lunch, and now they all sat around the table, sated and relaxing.
Alan got up and poured himself another cup of coffee, pouring one for Kevin too and then returning to the table.
Sam sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers absently on the table and staring at his plate. Until now he'd been fairly quiet, and now he seemed distracted, his face serious.

"Penny for your thoughts, kiddo." Kevin asked, sipping his coffee.

"I was just thinking about..." Sam paused, then looked up at his father with a sigh, finally continuing, "Well, not to ruin the mood but... I wanna' find out who came into the arcade, dad. How all of that got set up, with the internet. I almost really want to go to ENCOM and do a little research, but,...well, you know,...not with-...I mean-..."

He stopped stumbling over his words, and just looked at Kevin.
Kevin just gave a small knowing grin, and nodded his head.

"I know, Sam. I do too. I'm trying to relax, but I'm still thinking about all of it, you know?...especially the Grid, what to do about that. So, yeah, lots to figure out. And I agree on the ENCOM thing,... that's not a good idea. I mean, us going along with you, that is..."

Kevin nodded towards Clu and Tron, then sipped his coffee again.
Sam exhaled with relief. He knew there were so many things his dad would want to see after being gone for this long, and he was torn between wanting to spend time with his father and wanting to figure this whole thing out. But his dad understood that, and knowing he understood it made Sam suddenly much more relaxed.
Nodding in agreement, he sipped his soda, and then without really thinking he just blurted out the rest of what was on his mind.

"...yeah, because,...well you could probably slide now that you're older with the beard and all,...but, Clu? Let's face it...he looks just like you did when you left. And I could see that quickly becoming a hassle, especially with the board, and the Flynn Lives thing, and-"

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing what he'd just said, and wishing he hadn't just said it.
Immediately he glanced at Alan, who had nearly choked on his coffee when he'd heard the words. Then he looked back at Kevin with an awkward expression.

Kevin just looked back at him and blinked, his eyes narrowed in slight confusion.

"...'Flynn Lives'...?"

Sam's eyes got slightly wider, and he cleared his throat with a small smile. He looked back at Alan, then looked back at his father again, and he was about to speak when Alan's voice spoke instead.

"Quite a lot's happened since you've been gone, Kevin..."

From the way Alan took a deep breath, slowly set down his coffee cup, and looked at him with that familiar calm smirky grin on his face, Kevin knew he was in for quite an interesting explanation.