Kyle holds out his hand, grins when Mace shakes it vigorously. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too." Mace steps to the side, gestures Kyle and Guy further into the house. "Come on into the kitchen. I've got cold beer."
Kyle glances at Guy as they walk through the living room, reaches out and squeezes Guy's shoulder. "You get any more tense, you're gonna explode."
"Shaddup."
"Seems like a nice guy."
"Sure."
Kyle raises his eyebrows at Guy's tone but has them dropped back into place by the time they sit at the kitchen table, Mace rummaging in the fridge for beer.
"Here we go," he says, and he sets three bottles of beer on the table. "Need a mug?"
"No, thanks." Kyle twists off the cap, takes a sip, glances at Guy. He nudges Guy's ankle when Guy doesn't move to open his own beer. "You gonna let that get warm?"
Guy snaps back to wherever he was in his head, and he pops the cap on his beer, takes a long draw.
"So..." Kyle says when he realizes Guy isn't going to lead the conversation. "Guy says you're a cop."
"Yeah. I work narcotics. Long hours, lousy pay, the usual."
Kyle chuckles. "I've got an idea."
"You're a Lantern like Guy, right?"
"Yeah."
Mace nods. "Good. He needs someone who wants to be crazy with him."
"I'm not crazy," Guy mumbles into his beer.
Mace waves him off. "You're also not usually so quiet."
"Maybe you bore me."
"Maybe you suck."
"Maybe you're lame."
Kyle laughs at the back-and-forth and leans back in his chair, one arm curling around the back of Guy's chair as Mace starts to tell an embarrassing story of a six-year-old Guy that Guy tries to drown out with an off-key song about Mace sucking.
Afterwards, as they walk around the corner from Mace's place to take off for Oa, Kyle nudges Guy with his shoulder. "Be honest," he orders. "What made you so tense at first? Mace meeting me or me meeting Mace?"
Guy thinks about it and pulls a face, looking away from Kyle. "Neither."
"Oh?"
"It's stupid."
"Like, six-beers-and-you'll-tell-me stupid or actually stupid?"
"The first."
"You might as well tell me now, then. It only delays things until I can get six beers in you."
Guy looks down at the ground, scuffs his toe, looks back at Kyle. "When we were kids, my friends would come and hang out and then Mace would show up, and I'd be out of friends. He didn't mean to do it, but I'd always end up with all my friends hanging out with Mace while I was just...there."
Kyle has to bite back his smile at the confession. Guy's likely to dye his hair blue if he finds out Kyle finds his insecurities really endearing. "You thought we'd go there and I'd think Mace was cooler than you?"
Guy grimaces. "Yeah," he mutters. "Maybe."
"No chance. I need someone to be crazy with me."
"He's a narc cop. They're the definition of crazy."
Kyle shrugs. "Sure. Maybe here, but I need someone who can be space crazy."
Guy grins. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Meth labs and coke dens are scary, but c'mon. Space."
"Space," Guy echoes as they take off, burning through the atmosphere and hitting the darkness, slowing down as they round Jupiter. "Space is pretty cool."
no subject
Kyle holds out his hand, grins when Mace shakes it vigorously. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too." Mace steps to the side, gestures Kyle and Guy further into the house. "Come on into the kitchen. I've got cold beer."
Kyle glances at Guy as they walk through the living room, reaches out and squeezes Guy's shoulder. "You get any more tense, you're gonna explode."
"Shaddup."
"Seems like a nice guy."
"Sure."
Kyle raises his eyebrows at Guy's tone but has them dropped back into place by the time they sit at the kitchen table, Mace rummaging in the fridge for beer.
"Here we go," he says, and he sets three bottles of beer on the table. "Need a mug?"
"No, thanks." Kyle twists off the cap, takes a sip, glances at Guy. He nudges Guy's ankle when Guy doesn't move to open his own beer. "You gonna let that get warm?"
Guy snaps back to wherever he was in his head, and he pops the cap on his beer, takes a long draw.
"So..." Kyle says when he realizes Guy isn't going to lead the conversation. "Guy says you're a cop."
"Yeah. I work narcotics. Long hours, lousy pay, the usual."
Kyle chuckles. "I've got an idea."
"You're a Lantern like Guy, right?"
"Yeah."
Mace nods. "Good. He needs someone who wants to be crazy with him."
"I'm not crazy," Guy mumbles into his beer.
Mace waves him off. "You're also not usually so quiet."
"Maybe you bore me."
"Maybe you suck."
"Maybe you're lame."
Kyle laughs at the back-and-forth and leans back in his chair, one arm curling around the back of Guy's chair as Mace starts to tell an embarrassing story of a six-year-old Guy that Guy tries to drown out with an off-key song about Mace sucking.
Afterwards, as they walk around the corner from Mace's place to take off for Oa, Kyle nudges Guy with his shoulder. "Be honest," he orders. "What made you so tense at first? Mace meeting me or me meeting Mace?"
Guy thinks about it and pulls a face, looking away from Kyle. "Neither."
"Oh?"
"It's stupid."
"Like, six-beers-and-you'll-tell-me stupid or actually stupid?"
"The first."
"You might as well tell me now, then. It only delays things until I can get six beers in you."
Guy looks down at the ground, scuffs his toe, looks back at Kyle. "When we were kids, my friends would come and hang out and then Mace would show up, and I'd be out of friends. He didn't mean to do it, but I'd always end up with all my friends hanging out with Mace while I was just...there."
Kyle has to bite back his smile at the confession. Guy's likely to dye his hair blue if he finds out Kyle finds his insecurities really endearing. "You thought we'd go there and I'd think Mace was cooler than you?"
Guy grimaces. "Yeah," he mutters. "Maybe."
"No chance. I need someone to be crazy with me."
"He's a narc cop. They're the definition of crazy."
Kyle shrugs. "Sure. Maybe here, but I need someone who can be space crazy."
Guy grins. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. Meth labs and coke dens are scary, but c'mon. Space."
"Space," Guy echoes as they take off, burning through the atmosphere and hitting the darkness, slowing down as they round Jupiter. "Space is pretty cool."
"Yeah," Kyle agrees. "I like space."