I come from the water

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

Until the end, and Nate knows, for him at least, that's forever. That's another conversation though, something they can talk about later, something for him to potentially break down over. For now though, they're on the same page, there's an understanding, and that's all he needs to be content.

It would be a lie to say Nate isn't excited by the prospect of introducing Sunjata to drugs. Because, much like his "first time" with Loren, there is no way that they are counting the fucked up drugging with Phoebe as an experience. And really, this had kind of been his MO, back before he'd ascended. Do, or talk about something fucked up, get high to feel better, then get drunk to forget it all. Rinse and repeat. Though, they were going to stop at the feeling better part here. And maybe, just maybe, it would shift the mood enough to loosen his tongue some, because gods he feels like he knows so much about Sunjata's past, without having shared any of his own.

The grin that spreads over Nate's face as Sunjata says he's sure is positively wicked, his eyes flashing with a quiet excitement. It looks like more than it should, but he'd simply grabbed his last decently sized nugget, a little bit of greenish powder, and some rolling papers. The last of his stash from home, more potent than what was grown here, but only just. More importantly though, he knew exactly what was in this, what it should do. "It's just weed. All of it. And it should just relax you, and make you feel good." Nate rolls his hand, trying to figure out how to explain a high. "Kind of... fuzzy, or slow. But you might also get paranoid, or nervous. You're gonna have to keep talking to me, letting me know what's going on, okay?" There's some things he's missing sure, rarer possibilities, but those are the basics.

"First, you get to watch me struggle to roll this." Nate laughs, reaching out to stroke the other mans face, glad some of the easiness had returned to him, that he looks like some kind of normal. His hands return to the table though, where he picks the green nugget apart, as small as he can with just his thumbs. He should have grabbed something, anything else to do this, but oh well. It's the most time consuming part as well, but once he has enough to line the rolling paper he does, a little sprinkle of the powder joining the picked apart bits before he rolls it into a lumpy, but entirely passable joint. "There." He says brightly, offering it over to Sunjata. "Just like a smoke. But, just take one puff to start. And hold it a little bit, if you can." The lighter finds its way back into his hand easily, held out to light the joint whenever the other man is ready, something feeling a little bit romantic about it.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

Oh, he’s excited. And some of it rubs off on Sunjata, the smirk shifting to something wider, something far more genuine when Nate seems to dive right in. So he settles, letting the expert go about explaining – silently thankful for it as he lifts his leg up to tuck under him, sitting back a bit when he focuses on Nate, letting his gaze drift along the other man’s face, drifting down to the hands that wave with the explanation. Still, he can’t help the slight laugh that slips from his throat, some lightness coming over him as he considers it. “Alright. I’ll apologize in advance for whatever I say.” He flashes a wink toward Nate – not really knowing what might slip from his lips if he gets too fucked up. At least with alcohol he knows his limits, knows when to stop before his tongue grows too loose.

Nate’s laughter is far more of a balm than Sunjata could ever explain it to be, and he leans into the brief touch to his face, almost like that feline shift coming out with how he nuzzles into him slightly before his steel gaze does indeed watch Nate work. None of it makes sense to him, nor does he think that it should, really, but that’s beside the point. As Nate finishes up the joint, Sunjata can’t help but to raise a brow at it, gaze flickering back toward Nate with far more amusement gleaming in his eyes than there probably should be. “Looks like a fucked up smoke if you ask me, but okay.” He teases lightly, turning toward Nate a bit more fully.

If he can, feels like a challenge. But he tries to keep the warning in mind as he takes it between two fingers and leans forward toward the lighter that Nate holds out to light it. Some parts of him take over as usual, like a cigarette – but holy shit the smoke is thicker almost, a bit more enveloping, irritating the different parts of his throat that the cigarette smoke had long since changed. He manages to hold it all of… What, two seconds? Before he’s sputtering ever so slightly, exhaling it in a slight coughing fit, steel gaze shooting to Nate as he fumbles to recover. “Hold it a little bit if you can?” He asks, trying to take a deep inhale of breath to recover, some playful accusation lingering in his tone.

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

"Jata, if you don't say something stupid, you're not feeling it." There are stories he could share of the stupid things he'd done, stupid stories and ideas that made absolutely no sense sober.  "It kind of is a fucked up smoke." Nate laughs as he holds it out. "Back when me and Bart were uh... fuck, around fifteen? There was this old guy who lived a few doors down from us who always gave us shit for smelling like jazz cigarettes. Tried to call the cops on us once." Even now, it brings a grin, a boyish lightness to his face that does not and will not accompany most other memories, but he's just dipping his toes in for now.

Regardless of how it had come out, the if you can had been meant as a warning, one that goes unfortunately unheeded, Sunjata coughing and sputtering after only a moment. Nate tries to hold in a laugh, and fails spectacularly, but he still reaches out to take the joint from the other man, his other hand patting the attuned's back. "Guess ya couldn't." Comes the sly tease, his own accent stronger as this starts to feel more and more like where he'd come from, trap houses and shitty living rooms. "It burns a little different than a smoke, you gotta watch out."

While he waits for Sunjata to recover, Nate lifts the joint to his own lips, pulling on it smoothly and holding, a feat made far less impressive by the fact that he can't be affected, doesn't need to breathe. "C'mere." He purrs, reaching out to pull the attuned in close, a deep kiss pressed against him, teeth, then tongue, then a breath, the smoke a little smoother like this, without the direct burn. When he pulls back, he doesn't go far, his arm still around Sunjata's shoulders, electric eyes watching his face carefully. The joint still burns between his fingers, filling the air with a thin smoke, a noticeable smell, but this should be more than enough for the other man to feel something.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

Ah, if only he could blame more of his short comings with the stupid things he usually said on something like this. But he can’t, owning up to every single one of them, but focusing on Nate as much as he can, listening to the story that’s offered – latching onto the story with everything he has – some sort of boyish smile crossing his face with the nostalgic memories. “Buzzkill.” He comments easily – recalling a few calls of drunkards in Korofi that they’d tried to put him on before he’d been put in charge. And gods those were the most boring, most useless ones he’d ever done.

He wonders if it’s the same there. But the thought of that doesn’t last long, not as he’s sputtering and attempting to recover, hearing the tease and pinning Nate with a slightly sharper steel edge to his gaze, though the smirk crossing his face betrays him. “Oh, now you tell me.” He accuses, but manages to recover as swift as he can, lungs pulling in a bit more smoother air, settling as he focuses on what he could do better to try and refrain from coughing so fucking hard, wanting to try again just out of spite.

But then Nate’s grabbing his attention, watching as the Ascended pulls it easily into his own lungs – some playful roll of his eyes with that before he’s being pulled into Nate, going willingly, almost acutely attuned to try and figure out what parts of him will be affected, almost too much so that he’s thankful for Nate’s distraction. His arms slip around Nate easily, fitting there comfortably as he gives into the kiss, a hum slipping from his throat almost feeling raw with the coughing, but inhaling when Nate’s own breath is offered.

Not so different from some of the things Luci and he had done with their cigarettes, after all. But when Nate pulls away, there’s almost a whine, one blink and everything seems normal and the next he can spy Nate’s face watching him almost as if something’s happening. And he wants to lean in again, to wait for something to happen when he feels it. Almost like drinking too much, there’s that part of his mind that seems almost sluggish and slow, as if time has slowed a small amount and progressively getting so as he exhales long and slow – a playful smirk crossing his face as the tension relieves from his shoulders. “Okay...” He hums, a slight laugh slipping from his throat with it. He doesn’t know what to say, not as he’s leaning in toward Nate again, aiming to catch another kiss though perhaps a bit too hard and fast for his mind to keep up with, bumping his head into Nate’s a bit too hard.

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

"He really was." Nate rolls his eyes, his whole head moving with it, the motion ending in a shake. "Break a guys window one time, and he hates you until you move away." Another laugh accompanies the words, but it can be a story for later, because an absolutely brilliant idea had come to him, a way to sneak in some closeness and make up for his lack of warning about how harsh that first puff could be.

Maybe if he didn't know what he was looking for, if he didn't know Sunjata so well, Nate wouldn't notice the little change that comes over him, the little tells that he's feeling it, as he finally exhales, grin growing as the smoke leaves Sunjata's lips. Nate hums gently, returning the smirk, his brows raised almost in a question as he reaches over to stub out what was left of the joint, saving it for later. "Okay?' He repeats, leaning into the kiss he can see coming, too eagerly it seems. They collide, immediately drawing a laugh from Nate, his hand moving to rub at the spot they'd bumped into each other, more out of habit than any actual pain.

"Here, like this." Nate shifts on the couch, leaning back against an arm and pulling his legs up, and pulling Sunjata to lay across him, an arm wrapping around the attuned to keep him steady, the other hand coming back to cup his face again, to lean in and offer a make up kiss. It lasts longer than the first had, though Nate is far more careful about giving Sunjata chances to breathe, knowing how tempting it could be to just lean into the feeling. "How do you feel?" He asks, hoping for a moment of distraction, to get Sunjata talking, and maybe gauge exactly how fucked up he is.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

“Mmm, well…” He trails off a small amount, saving that conversation for later – wondering partially how Nate had broken he man’s window – all in all an amusing thought regardless. But Nate’s laughter is a chimed sound that Sunjata dives into, especially when the kiss is passing more of that sensation through to him, a closeness that Sunjata finds he suddenly craves. But he wears the mask a small amount, almost like he’s pretending that he can’t quite feel the shift in himself, even if he can.

Nate’s grin grows, and Sunjata’s leaning in a bit too fast for his mind to keep up with, before a small snort leaves him at the collision and Nate’s reaction to it. “Sorry.” Comes the quiet response, a fanged grin shot Nate’s way, overcoming any sort of playful smirks or anything of before for something… Almost more boyish, childish in nature. But then Nate’s shifting, and Sunjata thinks he’s following along relatively well, even if the movements seem to be going slower than he anticipates, his mind moving far faster than his body can keep up with.

Perhaps it’s easier if he doesn’t move? But he’s already halfway through it, following Nate and the shift, not feeling the pain to his gut too much anymore. It’s a dull ache as he drapes over the Ascended, leaning into the hand that cups his jaw and the kiss that follows after – a sweet and long kiss that has Sunjata melting more and more as the feeling overtakes himself with each passing minute. When the kiss breaks, only then does Sunjata actually focus on Nate, his chin resting on Nate’s chest as he squints for a brief moment, as if he has to think quite hard about how he feels. “I feel fine.” He offers, gaze snapping back to Nate’s with that same boyish grin crossing his face. He attempts to reach up and run his fingers through Nate’s hair, to run his thumbs along Nate’s own cheekbones, to touch whatever he can, as he considers how exactly to mention what he wants to say next, finding it easier to get over any sort of flags that kept his thoughts and emotions bitten down behind his lips. “Can I ask you something?” He says suddenly, gaze seeking Nate’s out with an almost stark clarity.

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

"I'm okay." The assurance comes automatically, Nate's hand moving away from his forehead to reveal nothing, not even any redness from the bump. Not that the other man seems to be actually apologetic in the least, but that had kind of been the point. To draw out this ease, this relaxation. To give him a break, after everything. And, if it results in an hour of close touchyness and mushy feelings, then so be it.

Strong, steady hands help where Sunjata seems to be faltering, where he seems to be getting too caught up in the movement, the rearrangement. They make it where they need to be in the end, settled in comfortably, where they'll more than likely spend the next few hours. But for those few hours, Nate has the only person who matters to him as close as possible, in his arms, free to kiss, and talk to, and... Gods, he really is lucky isn't he? To get a whole second chance at life, and find someone so perfect for him, someone who he feels almost perfect for. His fingers move in slow circles on Sunjata's back, an easy pressure to lean into while he waits, proper smile on his lips, for an answer. Fine is good, is what he expected, and Nate nods simply, accepting it easily.

Slow fingers reach up, tangling through his hair, pressing against his face, the goal seemingly to simply touch, without any kind of tact. It brings a smug grin to Nate's lips, something on his face deeply satisfied, deeply content. He might not have a big cat lingering just under his skin, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him, not in this moment. "You can ask me whatever you want Jata." His voice comes out as a purr, the words honey dripped, though his own hands slow a little, trying to keep from distracting away from whatever seems to be so important.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

He’s okay, which is good. Not like Sunjata could do anything about it other than whine about how Nate possibly wasn’t okay when he couldn’t really feel any pain. But the tenderness and silly tension relieving gesture does exactly that, as Sunjata fumbles in his attempts to get comfortable on the couch with Nate – slowly coming to the realization that anything is comfortable at this present moment, especially when Nate’s fingers move in slow circles along his back, almost his spine, drawing a small thread of goosebumps beneath their ministrations.

He answers the question of how he’s doing in a way that seems to not draw any further questions from the Ascended, and it’s one small victory to his slowly clouding mind. And he’s content with that too, as his hands and fingers find a way to tangle within Nate’s hair, to stroke and caress gently wherever he can – simply because he can. And it’s nice, to see that smug contentness as it crosses Nate’s face, something that swells a feeling within him in his stomach of a mix between surprise and satisfaction that he could draw that out.

The purr that slips from Nate’s lips, the answer to him asking a question has Sunjata’s chin propped a bit more, angling and adjusting himself so he’s a bit closer, so he can scan and drown himself in those electric blues, swept away completely on the ocean of his thoughts as he tries to pinpoint down how to go about saying what he wants to say. In the end, those thoughts are useless when the gates open, when his lips part and he has absolutely no room to try and cover himself as they pour out of him. “My nickname. I want – no, can you call me Sunny instead?” He asks, head tilting a small amount from where his chin rests on Nate. “It’s, only Luci called me that, but I don’t know. Jata’s just… Everyone calls me that.” A deep inhale before he doesn’t realize he’s slipped into Korofi and his fingers still at the nape of Nate’s neck, fingers curling into the dark hair and skin there.

“Maar jy is so fokken spesiaal vir my dat ek wil hê jy moet my ook Sunny noem.” His steel gaze remains on Nate, so focused, as he suddenly and sluggishly wonders if he’s overstepped anything.

---

Maar jy is so fokken spesiaal vir my dat ek wil hê jy moet my ook Sunny noem. - but you’re so fucking special to me that I want you to call me Sunny too.

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

Nate has to blink, hard, just to keep his eyes from welling up in response to the ramble, the request half in Korofi and half not, though the shift doesn’t even matter. ”I’ll call you Sunny, if you want me to.” He’s not quite fully recovered from the knot of emotions the other mans brought up in his throat, his tongue feeling heavy, and stupid in his mouth while he tries to speak, tries to swallow down more words, his own onslaught.

But, why? What better chance will he get to voice everything, to talk without a filter? It’s not like he can trick himself into it anymore.

”You know you’re special to me too, right?” He starts, one hand sweeping up Sunjata’s back, that same soothing pressure pressed against his shoulders. ”I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I...” His voice cracks a little, bit there’s still a smile clinging to his lips, still a brightness in his eyes, locked on Sunjata as they are. ”I want to keep you safe, and make you happy, and I swear to god every time you smile at me it feels like my heart is gonna explode.” He might not be actually high, but it’s easy to keep talking once he’s started, easy to be mushy and loving and sincere when it’s wrapped around little giggles and smiles so big he’s afraid they’ll split his face.

Maybe he would be able to talk about his past easily, if he just follows the same idea. Start talking and don’t stop. Just... in a bit, after they’ve gotten past romance, and softness. No point in ruining this, not so soon, not when they’ve just settled in. Nate leans in, wanting a proper kiss again, but unwilling to shift so much, and settling for a kiss pressed against the other mans forehead instead.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

“I do.” He offers easily, surprisingly swift on the heels of Nate’s acceptance. And Sunjata realizes he’s not quite close enough, not as he shifts a small amount and focuses on the man, aiming to get closer so his head can rest on Nate’s shoulder — so close, like a blanket, able to swing a leg over the Ascended’s hips, the position one he usually wouldn’t give into too much given the vulnerability… and yet, here he is.

He exhales softly with the feeling of Nate’s hand tracing along his back, and he listens, keeping his gaze focused on Nate the best that he can now that he’s settled and feeling quite content, sluggishly slow but happy despite it. He knows he’s special to Nate, but something about hearing it now has him shifting a small amount internally, almost sad that he hadn’t seen it before, but why does that matter now when they’re both exactly where they want to be? It’s not until Nate says that he loves him more than he’s ever loved anyone that Sunjata truly stills, that boyish smile growing a bit wider as he focuses on Nate. He wants to say the same but he’s not sure that he can… Not with the memory of Lusea always around. But gods if the love he had for Nate right here wasn’t really fucking close to that.

Perhaps Hotaru was right, that he’d changed and she’d changed in this place. When maybe him and Luci hadn’t been able to fit together as they once had. Perhaps that’s because there was something better for him waiting — a someone that fit better with the Flood when he wasn’t stuck in the dangers of Korofi and under his father's thumb.

His hand still trails in Nate’s hair, feeling the soft tresses run through calloused fingers. A soft sigh slips him from the kiss to his forehead, lids fluttering closed as he rests his cheek along the Ascended’s shoulder, giving into the sensation in his mind and his body. “You do make me happy. And you’ve kept me safe… what… how many times? No, wait.. Especially that first day we met.” Perhaps some of it is mumbled, fingers trailing to rest at Nate’s neck, rubbing smooth circles into the hollow of his shoulder. “I was kind of scared, you know. Never done anything like this before… but I’m glad. Really fucking glad. And I don’t want your heart to explode… What would I do without you?” He asks, though it’s laced with a breathy chuckle.

But then his head is lifting again to scan Nate’s face, that same crooked and boyish smile crossing his face only for Nate as he focuses hard. “So… can you tell me how you broke the guys window?” He asks, amusement lingering in his face, finally happy to have that question from earlier out in the open — hoping to learn more.

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

There's nothing but a patient, steady smile on Nate's face as he hangs on every single mumbled, rambling word. Though, the fingers at his neck do send his eyes fluttering, a low purr leaving him. "What d'you mean by like this?" There's a few things that could mean, though Nate thinks he has a pretty good idea what the answer is going to be. And it's kind of flattering, knowing that something about him had been enough for Sunjata to take that chance, make that leap.

Laughter isn't far from his lips at all right now, more bubbling up in the face of words that sound like they should be concern but don't quite have the tone behind them, and the question that pierces his chest all over again, that explosive burst of pure adoration striking him again, drawing a reassurance to him immediately, just to banish the thought. "You're not gonna be without me for a while, Sunny." The new nickname comes out in a purr, an I love you threaded through it so masterfully it could almost register first.

Blue eyes focus hard on Sunjata as his head lifts again, the usually predatory stillness tempered, made different by the smile on his face, though his composure cracks quickly at the question, the laugh that leaves him a little sheepish, his face growing soft, seeming younger with the look. His hand rises off Sunjata's back to push his hair back from his face. "It was just me and Bart being shitheads, really." There's a little huff of a laugh that leaves him, nostalgia sparkling in his eyes. "We were... bout ten? And fucking around outside, since being inside was just begging to get beat," the admission slips out so casually, it almost sounds like it's normal, like he doesn't notice it, "playing uh, rockball." There's a pause, so Nate can chuckle, so he can bite back the impulse to lie and make his actions sound less shitty.

"We hit rocks with a bat at cars when they passed. But, we didn't exactly live in the kind of place where a lot of people had cars, and the ones who did knew better than to go down side streets and shit. So we started aiming at houses instead." Like that was the most obvious progression, but it's not like Nate can explain the thought process of two ten year old terrors let loose in the streets. "We thought we were being smart, since everyone had bars over their windows and shit, so we picked one bigger than the bars so it wouldn't go through." There's a little wince in his grin before he continues, his smile only growing. "Turns out, if you hit a rock at some metal bars hard enough, the rock shatters into a million pieces."

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

There’s a slow blink of surprise when Nate asks him to clarify – and he imagines it’s likely because the other man wants to hear him say it, while there’s little to no filter over his mouth, where the thoughts just seem to drift out without anything else harboring the distractions other than him. So the blink melds into a quiet hum of a laugh, his gaze focusing on Nate with a sweet yet strong intensity, the arm he’s mostly laying on slipping up to give him a space to rest his head on, to prop his chin against along Nate’s shoulder. “With a man.” He hums, an easier answer. “Luci preferred both, I had it beat into my head to never try.” Likely because of the whole idea of him being royal and the need for more children to continue the bloodline.

But that’s beside the point.

So instead, he’s focusing on all the things he can say to Nate to get him to understand just how much everything the Ascended has done has affected the Attuned. And when Nate says Sunny, there’s almost a glittering to his gaze, an acceptance, a love that he burns with as that boyish smile grows a bit softer and far gentler. But there’s nothing else to say, other than the sheer glimmer of adoration that slips past whatever masks he typically laid in place.

It isn’t until Nate’s speaking of his home that Sunjata spots the shift, sees the softness, the young edge to the Ascended’s face that has his hand stilling at Nate’s neck to hear the full explanation of the situation. And well, the mention of shitheads is noted, a brief flickering of a frown at the mention of staying inside. “I know the feeling.” He offers to Nate, before he draws silent again. At least until Nate draws quiet after the story, there’s an almost slightly widened look to his steel gaze, as he laughs at the game and what had happened.

“I’ve gotta say… You were being a shithead. Almost don’t blame the man.” He snorts, though he grins regardless. He’d never quite done anything like that. But the thought still amused him, and now that he has Nate opening up, he flashes another easy grin, lazy, like the panther shift of him coming out. “Tell me more?”

SUNJATA

i don't know where home is, but i suppose it's anywhere i go that's any good at all

The answer that comes is exactly the one he expects, but it still brightens the smile on Nate’s lips, as he moves to help Sunjata shift a little easier. ”I had it beat into a little more than my head, but I realized pretty quick it was gonna happen now matter what I did.” It’s a little darker than he means to delve so quickly, though it’s all but impossible to tell by his voice, the tone still bright, still infected by the edge of the grin on his lips. ”There was no point in being doubly miserable, right?” Even if he’d still hidden the majority of what he did, once he’d realized his preferences, he indulged.

"More..." Nate murmurs, licking his lips and casting his mind back, trying to pick through things that were lighter, at least a little bit. Things that he thinks are funny, that would make good stories for moment. Things that, more often than not, involve him being some degree of brainless asshole. There’s more animation to Nate like this, his hands and face working overtime to keep him moving, to not give him a chance to really realize what he’s saying before it’s already out.  

After a moments thought, though it feels longer, probably to the both of them, a slow, sly grin comes to his face, this memory particularly fucked in the moment, but hilarious to think back on. "I wrecked the first car I bought for myself. Bart was in... something, whoever the fuck he was dating then I guess, and he was the one who talked me out of stupid shit.” There’s a pause, a break to chuckle, to smile a conspirators grin at Sunjata. ”One of my buddies wanted to race in some parking lot, and I had just fucking got this car, so I wanted to test it out.” One of his hands rises up again, so he can add some visual to the story, gestures to help him explain. ”The lot was a bunch of aisles, with these concrete blocks at the ends. And we did, er... we were gonna do ten laps, and whoever got the better time won.”

Another pause, though this one seems to be just for Nate, some kind of remembered offence crossing his face. ”I fucked up on the first lap. Misjudged my turn, caught the edge of the concrete block, and went fucking flying.” Again, it’s not necessarily a good memory, just one that makes him, and hopefully Sunjata, laugh a little.

NATE

I saw the crosses of empty cathedrals whose prospects were hanging out in bars

He hears Nate comment on it, a bit darker than the shift of the conversation, but Sunjata doesn’t mind. They both have that in common at the very least, however fucked up it may be. “My father was so concerned about bloodlines that even after everything I did in the resistance, after he killed Lusea, he engaged me to some woman from another neighboring county.” He muses, rambling a bit before he realizes. “Saar was engaged to Melita’s dad.” He doesn’t remember if he’s told Nate that before. There’s almost a glazed look about his eyes as he thought about it, the time after, and that despite all of the crimes he’d done, his father still sought to use and breed the strength that Sunjata had used to survive in his father’s reign. “But yeah, no point in it.” He agrees wholeheartedly, that far away look gone in an instant as he asks Nate for more information, more to latch onto.

But then there’s a soft smile that crosses his face as he focuses on Nate and hears the story, one that shifts into a bright hum of a laugh. “You didn’t.” He interrupts at some point, probably somewhere between his mentioning of a new car and the race. But it makes sense to him, to want to test it out, hadn’t he done something similar when he’s gotten his bike for the first time?

It isn’t until Nate expands on it, and there’s a point of vividness that Sunjata can almost see how it went down, before the laugh that slips from him is bright as he focuses on a not really important bit. “What was the prize?” Bragging rights? Money? Something else? In reality, he should be asking whether or not Nate had ended up getting out of the mess okay and safe, but it’s evident from the man beneath him right now that he’s fine and whole, and it hadn’t stopped him from getting another car as Sunjata swiftly recalls.

But he settles in with a smirk. “Didja flip it?” He asks, keeping his gaze on Nate, wondering how hard he’d hit the blocks before a realization dawns on him and he can’t help the other slight snicker of laughter. “Luci did something like that, ended up fucking up the tank and a building.” There’s a moment of pause as he reflects on that particular memory. “She would’ve liked you, I think. She liked the troublemakers.”

SUNJATA