The smell of pancakes greeted Nightwolf. The events of last night came rushing back to his throbbing brain. He stole a glance at his bedside clock and saw it was nearly ten thirty.

Nothing to do but face it.

Nightwolf carefully got himself out of bed and ambled into the small kitchen, moving slowly so as not to disturb his very delicate stomach, as it was at the moment. He nearly smiled at the sight of Johnny at the stove, flipping what seemed to be the last of a large batch of pancakes.

Wait, I have no pancake mix.

"Morning sleeping beauty,' Johnny greeted. "Made you a stack." He handed a platter full of pancakes to the grateful man and grabbed a plate for himself. The two sat down at the small table, already set with syrup and orange juice waiting.

"How did you make these?" Nightwolf sliced into his stack. "I had no mix."

"Oh I went out and got some ingredients this morning after my run," Johnny said around a mouthful of pancakes.

"You made these from scratch?" Nightwolf got a mouthful of the food and realized that was the only way to make pancakes this good.

"Yeah, I try not to use mix that often," Johnny poured some syrup on his and resumed eating.

"Well they're great," Nightwolf told him. Johnny's chest swelled a little.

"They're not fantastic, but yeah they're pretty good." Nightwolf smiled a bit around his meal, both at Johnny and at the fact that his hangover was leaving, thanks to the food. He took a sip of the orange juice.

"So how have you been?" Johnny asked in between bites.

"Oh, fine," Nightwolf casually answered. He was pretty certain Johnny had guessed at his addiction. After all, despite was most of the other warriors had thought, the actor was nobody's fool. Also, he noticed that Johnny had cleaned up while Nightwolf was asleep, a noticeable lack of bottles drawing his attention. "You?"

"Same old,same old," Johnny shrugged. "Did a couple movies. I'm in between at the moment."

"Oh," Nightwolf said. He wished he knew what movies Johnny had been in, but honestly he wasn't a big movie watcher. A TV was one thing he had decided he didn't need, and all of his excess money had gone toward buying more alcohol. He knew Johnny knew that he was completely oblivious to whatever Johnny's career had been. Silence reigned at the table for an uncomfortable minute.

"So where do you work?" Johnny inquired. Nightwolf inspected his pancakes.

"I, I'm currently in between jobs as well," he said. The truth of the matter was he had been fired from his last job, and recently. He hadn't yet gone out to look for another job, but that was about to change, he told himself. Not in the least because his rent was due in two weeks. "I'm searching for one, but you know how it is," he said vaguely.

"Yeah," Johnny replied.

They continued in silence for a while, the only sounds that of the silverware against their plates. "So, what are your plans for the day?" Johnny asked.

Nightwolf looked down at his rapidly diminishing stack of pancakes. "Well," he steadied his breathing. "Today is the day I stop drinking."

Nightwolf dared a glance at the man opposite him.

"That's fantastic." Johnny said warmly. Nightwolf felt his shoulders relax. Why had he even been so worried?

"Thanks," Nightwolf said.

"Any way I can help?" Johnny asked.

Nightwolf shrugged. The support Johnny could provide by just being there would be a great start, but there was really no way to phrase that without making the moment awkward.

"Whatever you feel like doing," Nightwolf answered.

"Alright," Johnny said and let the matter drop. The pair finished their breakfast in silence.

As they completed their meal, Nightwolf stood up. "I'll get the dishes," he offered.

"Kay," Johnny said and helped clear the table. When everything was put up, he disappeared into the living room.

Nightwolf had almost finished his dishes when Johnny came back in, wearing his jacket. "Hey, I'm going out. Wanna come?"

Leaving the apartment sounded good to Nightwolf. "Sure, let me get my coat." Nightwolf quickly went to his room and got his heavy coat. As he glanced in the mirror, he was again struck with the contrast between himself and the actor. He turned slightly, seeing if he looked any better from the side. No luck. The worn coat still hung in very unflattering folds across him. He walked back into the kitchen, noting how Johnny's jacket hugged his body in all the right places, simultaneously lending him style and elegance.

I am not going to be jealous of how his jacket fits.

Nightwolf decided to go shopping later. And maybe start running with Johnny.