Talk

Alex stood at the entrance to his apartment, trying to clear his head. There were several questions flowing freely in there. Namely ones having to do with Maverick. Why would he ask both of them out? What was he planning, if anything? His motives for this round were confusing. And there were still several hours left of those questions going unanswered.

'Maybe I should finish this when I'm more comfortable', he thought. So, off he went to the shower.

It was definitely a while before he went to meet up with Bryce. Those hours really dragged on with what was on his mind. What he didn't expect to see on his dragon's face was the same confusion. He guessed Maverick's request must've got to both of them.

"You ready?" Was all Bryce said. Those two words confirmed it: they both wanted some answers, and it was high time they got exactly that...

Downtown Apartment - 2:29PM

A knock at the door prompted a certain gray dragon to get up from his sofa. With a small groan, he checked the peephole. They were here early.

"I'm going out. Bryce deserves some company." Maverick said softly to an urn. He picked up a basket, and pulled the door open.

He never noticed until now, but Alex was pretty tall. He stood only an inch or two shorter than Bryce, not counting his horns. Both were glistening from their walk over. He didn't blame them either. It was pretty damn hot today, and this evening wasn't looking any better.

"Well, well. Looks like tonight's going to be fun." Bryce gave a knowing grin as he admired the object Maverick carried in his maw.

"Nothing in there but food, Chief." Maverick countered bluntly. Those kinds of jokes would never hit with him. Not even Alex was impressed. Either that, or he just didn't get it. It really depended on whether he experienced the Fun Basket or not.

"Boo! How can you take the Fun Basket places without all the fun stuff?" Bryce swiftly followed up. His offense was clearly false, But Alex still couldn't help but feel bad.

"Simple." Maverick brushed past. "I don't have 'fun' stuff in the first place." Poor Bryce whinged a little at that argument. He got that basket specifically for carrying the fun stuff. He couldn't imagine just using it as a simple picnic basket...

The trio arrived at a small clearing off Tatsu Park's northern beaten path. Alex guessed Maverick premeditated on this before his walk. Either way, the location was quite ideal. It was quiet, secluded, and spacious. He made a mental note to thank him later for the location idea.

Maverick set down the fun basket and began unpacking. That was, until his arm started throbbing. He tore the limb away and rubbed at it. Bryce hurried immediately to his side. Alex trotted over himself. Seeing the poor dragon in pain made him wish he took the brunt of Reza's bullets.

"Here. You take it easy. Alex and I will get us set up." Bryce ordered softly, laying his friend on his side. He glanced to the human, who went for their kit. A simple blanket was pulled up to Maverick so there was little trouble reaching everything. Bryce added the food once that was done. Soon enough, everything was set up nicely.

"And there we are. I'll get your food, Maverick. Just tell me what you want and I'll plate it." Alex offered with a gentle pluck of his plate.

"It's fine. I can do this mys- Aah!" Maverick hissed as he tried to grab a sandwich, much to his sore arm's disagreement. Alex just placed said sandwich on his plate with a blunt 'thought so'. He just glared at it before taking a pathetic bite.

Meanwhile, Bryce had loaded his plate with all kinds of unhealthy stuff. From sandwiches to jerky, and hardly a scrap of much else to be seen. It was kind of sad seeing how his diet was.

"Bryce, get some veggies or something with all that. It's not healthy to eat just meat." Alex chastised his dietary choices like a doting mother. Despite his intentions, he was just given a dumb smile and a show of plate.

"I have something. Just look." The fiery dragon tried to argue with his sandwiches, but Alex wasn't about to have it.

"Something besides carbs and condiments, love. Here." He eased his plate down and placed some colorful greens and string cheese on it. Bryce immediately took the latter off, and put it back where it belonged.

"Nice try, love, but you're not getting that stuff near me." He swiftly knocked his partner down a peg. Said partner just picked it up and held it in front of him.

"Bryce, tell me. Do you eat pizza?" He started to a cautious nod from his dragon. "I've got some news for you, then. This is the same cheese they put on it." The little, long log flopped onto Bryce's plate once more. He just glazed it over, as if trying to compare it to a tasty meat-lover's pizza.

"I call bullshit." Was all he said in retaliation.

"Have you seriously never heard about mozzarella?" Alex's surprise grew when Bryce shook his head adamantly. Even Maverick was somewhat taken aback.

"That's just sad, Bryce." Maverick lay there, shaking his head. Seemed even Bryce's best friend was against him on this.

"I don't get you guys. It's literally just cheese." Bryce retaliated with a passive bite of jerky. "Look, Alex. I'll eat the vegetables, just not the cheese. I'd rather have them anyway."

"I'm not going to leave it alone until you take one bite." Alex took a small bite, peeling off a strip with his teeth. "It's nothing like those trashy slices you commonly see." Bryce just shook his head.

"All the same to me. Cheese sucks, and that's that." Bryce shot back. He was quite adamant about his opinion on the stuff. Alex shrugged, deciding not to bother with it... for now. Maverick sighed out of frustration.

"Anyway..." The formerly arguing pair turned toward their host. "How'd that investigation go? I know it can't have been very easy on either of you." Bryce looked annoyed, whilst Alex regained his hardened glare.

"Not any of your business, Mav-"

"I won't let it happen again." The human interrupted his dragon, much to said dragon's annoyance. The sentiment was appreciated, but that action was uncalled for.

"Okay... Alex, there wasn't anything you could do anyway. No need to feel guilty." Bryce consoled him with little success.

"No. There is. I let myself get shot. If I hadn't, things may have turned out differently." Alex argued. Maverick tried bringing a wing over to comfort him, to which he found out just how far he was.

"You know, I don't think I ever heard how you got shot like that. Would you mind sharing if you're comfortable?" Bryce queried more politely. This admittedly threw them for a loop. His current act was a complete curve ball to them, as they mostly knew Bryce to be... Bryce.

"Don't quite think this is the place to be talking about that.." Alex softly argued, rubbing his wrist. An awful little scar had formed on either end of his forearm. God, that bullet hurt.

"Tell me when you're ready, then. We could swap stories." Bryce stated lightheartedly. His companion only gripped his arm in response. This was the exact opposite of how he wanted this to go...

"Say, Bryce, I think I just thought of something we could do while we're out here." Maverick spoke up with a slightly malicious smile. Alex wondered what exactly he was up to...

"I'm game. What is it?" Bryce pressed, to which his friend polished off his beer and placed the empty bottle down. The other two knew exactly where this was going from that one action. And the next thing he said would...

"Truth or dare." Contradict it? Alex was wholly expecting him to say 'Spin the Bottle' or something, not a game for sleepovers. What did he think they all were, 12? There had to be some kind of plan behind this.

"Really? I think only young girls play that!" Bryce laughed heartily at the suggestion. Meanwhile, Maverick's face had gone back to its stone cold stoicism. That by itself caused the other to stop after a moment.

"Maverick, how many drinks have you had?" Alex joked. His ally gave a serious stink eye in response.

"Only one, just now." Maverick said with some frustration. His boss snorted out a laugh, as did their guest of 'honor'.

"Sounds like you've had enough. Get this man some water and a blanket, STAT!" Alex guffawed. Maverick responded by lazily lunging for the other, to which he swiftly dodged. He landed flat on his belly.

"Okay, that's definitely enough fighting. Let's not ruin this picnic." Bryce broke them up by laying himself between them. Maverick's poor hands were caught under that huge body upon impact. He yelped, yanking them out the instant Bryce gave him room to do so.

"You... are such a prick..." Poor Maverick hissed, rubbing his throbbing paws. He swore then and there that if any extremity got hurt any more, he would lose his mind.

"I'm sorry. Can't exactly see behind me." Bryce tried to look back with no real success. It was like a horse; they turn their head back, they fall flat. That didn't stop him from trying.

"Just don't do it again." Maverick said darkly. Alex understood what he was going through, but he didn't have to act so poorly. This was an accident. He should be a little more understanding of that.

"I won't. Geez, I think I'm better off going to the bar. At least it's peaceful there." Bryce complained rather vocally. Either he raised his voice, or it carried better than one would think. Either way, he clearly wasn't about to stick around.

"If you go, I'm going too. At least it's cool there." Alex added, instantly catching the other's attention. His face lit up as soon as he heard that.

"Damn cool and damn good drinks. How about it, kid." Bryce joked, his smile beaming. Alex couldn't help but multiply that by two. His dragon's attitude was purely infectious.

"Well, now I can't refuse! Let's roll." Alex sprang from his spot to join his dragon. Together, the duo disappeared from Maverick's sight. Their objective? The bar. Their mutual friend watched on as they disappeared behind the tree line.

"You're welcome..."