Good Company

Growing up in the slums of Satellite, getting the chance to use a proper bathroom was extremely rare. Most of the time people relieved themselves in back alleyways, washed their faces with cloudy drain water and danced out in the polluted rain with their clothes on. Even the more functional buildings, such as Martha's orphanage which had bathroom stalls, had to deal with pipes breaking, no hot water and mold growing in every corner.

Suppose that was why Kalin retreated to the bathroom in the place where he stayed in Crash Town whenever he began to freak out or lose his ability to function. He never in his life had lived in a place with a functioning bathroom and it was so easy to lock himself away from the outside world in that room.

It was not a lavish bathroom. It was pretty small, with a shower head that dripped on occasion and a tub that was cracked on one side. A small sink stood next to an old toilet, with a wooden medicine cabinet hanging above. Kalin had smashed the mirror early on, although he still avoided looking at his reflection in the shattered glass. The walls were painted gray, the over head light was dim and the white tile on the floor was always cold.

Most of the time when he would lock himself away, Kalin would sit on the floor of the bathroom, his back against the wall and his knees curled up to his chest. He would sit there for hours into the night, afraid to fall asleep and have to experience those awful nightmares about his past. Sometimes he would turn on the shower head and listen to the sound of running water to distract him from the troubling thought and memories.

Even after Yusei came to Crash Town and Kalin found a new reason to keep on living in the form of helping others, he still had those nightmares. He still experienced episodes of guilt and self-hate that tortured him in the darkness of the night. Kalin did not want to die anymore, but the will to live only lessened the pains of his past, not completely eliminate them. With habits and issues as bad as his, it would take a lifetime to fully recover...if that was even possible.

Then one day, Jack Atlas showed up on his door step.

Apparently Jack had become so irritated with his roommates back in the city, he wanted a break and decided Crash Town was the place to go for a short vacation. Probably there because he knew Kalin would let him stay, even if it was inconvenient for him. Kalin was still living in the same place where he was when working with Radley's group. He visited Nico and West's home regularly, but believed it was for the best for him to live by himself. Kalin resided in a single room, that was large enough to hold a small kitchenette, a full bed, a desk with a set of chairs, a dresser and that bathroom.

"You really should clean this place up." Jack was not all that impressed with Kalin's living quarters. Clothes on the floor, unwashed dishes, trash left laying around and a layer of dust on practically every surface.

"Well, I've been busy and wasn't exactly expecting company." Kalin snarked. If felt good to see that he was getting some of his old swagger back.

Jack huffed, then let out a long sigh. "If you want I can help you clean, then buy you dinner to make up for my intrusion."

Kalin smirked. Jack was becoming a softie. "Alright. I mean it's only polite to buy someone food before getting into bed with them, right?"

Jack rolled his eyes at his former leader. "I forgot how much of a smart ass you could be."

The two old friends straightened up Kalin's home, then ran to the local market to grab some food to eat. Jack bought as he promised, but Kalin ended up doing most of the cooking. His former teammates apparently only ate eggs and ramen noodles. After a quiet dinner, Kalin and Jack sat on the bed together, not really knowing what they wanted to do with each other.

"Ya' know, I get messages from Yusei now whenever he's annoyed about you and Crow fighting." Kalin told Jack.

"Crow starts it a majority of the time."

"Well, what do you do that makes him so mad?"

"Everything I do gets him pissed off."

As the time passed and Jack showed signs of being tired from his drive into town, Kalin offered the other side of his bed, since there was not really anywhere else Jack could sleep besides the floor. Jack accepted and quickly made himself comfortable. Kalin followed suit, but unlike Jack, he was not able to fall asleep so easy. It was not an issue when they were kids sleeping in the same bed. Hell, sometimes all four of them would cramp together under blankets to stay warm.

Maybe that was the problem.

Kalin was careful when he got out of bed, not wanting to get a mouthful if he woke Jack up. He made his way into the bathroom, shut the door and turned on the light. He was not really feeling overly emotional, just could not sleep. Still Kalin sat down in the same spot he always did, sighing and wishing he could just have one night where he could sleep easy. He should have taken Jack to the bar, so he could get black out drunk and maybe sleep the night away.

Kalin was not sure how much time had passed when he heard strange sounds from outside the room. Probably the old building creaking again. He had his eyes on the floor, when the door to the bathroom opened. "Kalin. You okay?"

Kalin looked up to see Jack with look of sincere concern on his face. "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you out."

Kalin barely smiled. "Don't be sorry, Jack. It's nothing you did."

It was unexpected when Jack walked fully into the bathroom and sat down on the floor across from Kalin. "You know, when I first saw you with long hair, I thought it looked ridiculous. But now, I kind of like it."

Kalin felt embarrassed at Jack's out-of-no-where statement, especially after noticing the way he was looking at him. "The hell, Jack."

Jack smirked at the retaliation. "Nice to see I'm getting the old Kalin back."

Kalin sighed. "Some of him back...I guess."

It was unexpected when Jack sat on the floor, but now it was downright surprising when he crawled over to sit next to Kalin, slinging his arm around his former leader's shoulder in the process.

"What're you doing?"

"I missed you, Kalin."

As if on impulse, maybe muscle memory, Kalin leaned into Jack's chest. "I missed you, too."