With a hot carton of fries, a container of nuggets, and a chocolate shake, Adolin felt much better. The company was severely improved from the silence of his room, too. Though they hadn't spoken much on the way to the restaurant, and spoke even less as they sat in the parking lot, munching on supper, the silence was at least companionable.

"Rock would cringe if he saw me eating this," Kaladin muttered, driving up to the garbage to throw out their trash.

Adolin raised a brow. "Rock?" he asked, buckling his seatbelt again as they drove off.

"Friend of mine. He's a chef. Doesn't think highly of fast food."

"Most people don't, at least they claim not to. We all eat it anyway."

Kaladin grunted. "Fair enough. Not Rock, though."

"Why the hell do you—is his name actually Rock?"

"Nah. But none of us can say his actual name, so we nicknamed him."

"We?"

"My other friends and I..."

That made sense, obviously, but it was not his real question. "It was an opening to talk more about your other friends. You must do something outside work."

Kaladin shrugged. "Video games. Spend time with friends."

Adolin sighed in good-natured frustration. "You're so eloquent. Any hobbies?"

"I have my pilot's licence."

Adolin started at that, genuinely impressed. "Seriously? Can you take me flying sometime?"

Kaladin sighed, muttering something that sounded like, "They always ask...", and shaking his head. "Sure, if you rent the plane."

"...how much?"

"A few thousand for a couple hours."

Adolin whistled softly. "I bet you don't get out much..."

"Not exactly."

Adolin filed the information away.

"How about a girlfriend?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Broke up six months ago. Nothing since. How about you, rich boy? I'm not answering all the questions tonight."

"No girlfriend. I also enjoy video games. Hobbies include fencing, horseback riding, and archery."

"...what are you, a medieval knight?"

Adolin chuckled. "I enjoy it."

"Right. Weirdo."

Adolin smiled at the teasing, then his face fell. It would be hard to keep some of that up, now...

"You're brooding, blondie."

Blondie? "I don't brood."

"...right. And the sky is green."

"Why do you care?"

"...you're my friend?"

"Since when?"

"Since I came and took you for a drive when you were too sad and pathetic to see your other friends."

The snarky insult was strangely touching. Adolin found himself grinning. "Admit it, you like me."

"You're tolerable. Sometimes."

Adolin elbowed him lightly. "So, where are we going?"

Kaladin shrugged. "Nowhere. Anywhere. I like to just drive sometime. It helps me think."

"Right. Let's drive, then."

They drove. Before long, they had left the city, taking a back road Adolin had not even known existed. It was poorly paved, and dense trees lined the road. They saw little traffic.

"...why policing?"

The unexpected question took Adolin by surprise. Glancing over, he caught Kaladin's eye briefly. "What do you mean?"

"Why take up policing?"

"...most people think it's a noble calling," he replied wryly.

"I'm not most people."

"I hadn't noticed," he muttered under his breath. With a sigh, he shrugged. "I wanted to help people. There's enough corruption in the forces in this country. Figured I could be one officer I knew wasn't corrupt."

Kaladin grunted. "Good enough, Adolin."

"...I'm sorry about what happened to your brother," he said softly. "Did you...wanna talk about it some more?"

"No."

Feeling awkward, he asked. "You, uh...sure?"

He got no response, so Adolin let it drop, turning his attention back to the passing scenery. Dusk was settling, and before much longer, he spotted a young buck watching them from the side of the road.

"Kal, watch—" he warned.

His friend nodded, glancing at it briefly. "You see a lot of wildlife out here."

That caught Adolin's interest, and he stared out the windshield a little more eagerly. "It's a nice night."

"Open the window if you want."

Adolin did so, resting his arm on the ledge and letting the warm air tousle his blond hair. It was nice out, and before much longer he spotted a fox slinking into the ditch. He went to point it out to Kaladin, only to find the man eyeing him rather openly. He raised a brow, mouth opening to speak.

"Your hair's a mess."

"It's a carefully calculated look."

"Calculated by...what? Open window? Is that how you do your hair every day—you know what, don't answer that."

Adolin laughed. "At least I own a hairbrush."

"I'll teach you to use it whenever you're ready."

"Use it for...what, exactly?" he asked, grinning.

"...that sounds awful."

Adolin snorted a laugh. "It does, doesn't it?"

"I'll admit that I've had weird shit up my ass before, but no hairbrushes."

Adolin blinked at the blatant statement, turning to stare at Kaladin. "Uh...okay?"

"I'm flirting with you."

"...I kinda got that. You're just doing an awful job of it. I thought being lame was my job—no, lame is too nice. That's just weird."

"Kinky."

"...yeah...no. That image is not kinky. You're really bad at this."

Kaladin grunted. "At least I'm trying."

"Pull over."

Kaladin glanced at him, brow raised. "Why?"

"Just do it."

With an audible sigh, the man complied. "Happy?"

Adolin unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning over to grasp the man's chin. Then he kissed Kaladin. The man pulled back marginally.

"...you could try for a little subtlety," Kaladin breathed against his lips.

"Subtlety like yours?" Adolin retorted, kissing him again. This time, Kaladin responded.

It was well passed dark when Kaladin dropped him off. Adolin felt a great deal better than he had that afternoon, however. Dragging himself up the stairs to his room, he dropped his crutches to the floor and fell onto his bed.

The rest of the drive had passed with relaxed chatter. They had talked about shared interests, schooling, some happier childhood memories... Kaladin had relaxed more the longer they drove, allowing the conversation to turn to slightly more personal topics.

He had learned a few new things about Kaladin, though there could be no doubt the man was still fairly closed off with him.

He sat up, striping down to his boxers then dragging himself to his en suite bathroom to ready himself for bed. It was funny, he noted as he brushed his teeth, how often Kaladin acted as though he disliked him. He was all bark, though...and clearly it was a front.

Kaladin definitely liked him, Adolin noted with a grin. The man was difficult to get a read on, at least until one realised that permanent grouch was his resting face, and he barely knew how to smile. Despite that, the man could enjoy himself, and luckily enough, Adolin was good at smiling for both.

He fell back into bed, grinning stupidly to himself. Good grief, he felt like an overexcited teenager again. He really liked Kaladin, though. The man was smart, witty, attractive, interesting, motivated, nice beneath all that grouch...

For the first time in two weeks, he fell asleep thinking of something other than his missing leg.