James placed his bowl in the sink with the rest of the dishes, deciding to wash them up later this evening when he got back home. With a content look he walked back into his room to change shirts, having stained his current one with a dollop of sauce, swiftly replacing it with a plain white tee as he balled up the soiled one and tossed it in the general direction of his clothes basket. [i]What to do?[/i] That was the question that haunted him, as a celebrity epic, James was quite well off, the salary he received from the ECPD as a 'volunteer' covered basic living costs whilst the various other incomes, company sponsorship, ENTV guest appearances and even the occasional job in the private sector allowed him to live in excess. This in turn however freed up a lot of his time, not actually having a proper day job left gaps in ways to occupy himself, perhaps he'd just hit the gym again. James stretched out an arm behind his shoulder blade, the dull ache that ran up from his rib gave him the answer to that question. [i]Pub?[/i] He quickly shook his head at the thought. [i]Bad press, drinking this early in the day. [/i] He gave it some more thought to no avail, throwing on a pair of thongs before heading out the door, not quite sure where he was headed.

[i]Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch.[/i] He recited in his head, his hands instinctively imitating the catholic practice of making a sign of the cross while he mentally went through the check list, he didn't exactly possess spectacles, or a watch for that matter, but the tradition he had learned from his uncles demanded they be listed. He wondered how the old boys were doing, last he saw of them they had been doing shift work at a lumber mill somewhere in Oregon, as rough and hardworking as ever. Although not actually related to them, his uncles Kyle and Liam, two brothers who had befriended his mother upon her arrival in the country, had been his biggest role models growing up. They were both jokers, but held that 'work hard, drink hard' kind of mentality in their life, they looked after both him and his mum in their early days, helping them adjust to their new lifestyle, while helping keep a younger James out of the public eye, away from the gaze of malicious groups that may of harmed him for being what he was. They had kept in touch with his mother, gracing the two of them with the occasional visit after they moved to Epic city when James was sixteen, it had been a much needed reprieve with the uncles acting as mediators between a somewhat unruly teen James and a mother trying to maintain her authority as a parent. James visibly cringed at the memory of his younger self as he walked out of his apartment complex. 

"James?" A familiar voice called out, James whipped around, his eyes resting on a short fellow with short black hair styled in a faux hawk. Green eyes full of mischief, shone out from behind a pair of round glasses, the fellow hid half a grin behind his hand as he scratched at the stubble on his cheek, awaiting his friends response.

"Mother-fucker." James said with a smile, the word sounding almost musical as he formed it, he held out his arms and embraced the other man in a brief hug, each of them giving the other a heavy pat on the back.

"Looks like I just caught ya, I've always been one lucky sonofabitch, down for some coffee?"

"God damn Boost, only if you're paying." James replied, earning him a chuckle and a certain hand gesture from his friend.

"Naturally." Boost said, shaking his head as the two walked side by side to an old haunt of theirs, Tanya's bakery. It was a popular joint when they were teens, serving some of the best and freshest pastries this side of the river.

The two of them shot the shit and caught up on each others activities from the past two years, James had been doing much the same, having just started his rise to fame when Boost had left the city to tour around the states. The two of them had debuted as a duo team in Epic city at the age of 18, scrapping with small time villains and taking on the local drug operation in their area. James had been a bit more conservative in his look back then, relying heavily on Boosts ability to carry them through the fights. 

"You know, I still think I have tank top with the old insignia on it." James chimed in while they sipped at their drinks, the coffee was shit, but the crisp, buttery croissant more than made up for it, with James humming contently to himself as he took a bite.

"No shit! We'll have to dig it up at some point and hit the streets for old time sake. I can see it now, Boost and The Defender, back at it again." 

A smile lit up James face as Boost performed the accompanying theatrics to his announcement.

"Boost and Stark crusader." James corrected, waggling a finger at his friend. "Public gave me the new name a year back. Didn't you read the emails I sent you?" 

Boost shook his head apologetically, before giving a shrug. "You always were a boring fucker, so I gave 'em a skip." He replied with a grin. James tossed the remainder of his croissant in his direction.

"Oi! ya cheeky bastard!" Complained Boost, throwing James a look of incredulity.

"That's what you get ya prick." James said in a light hearted way, catching the butchered remains of his morning tea that Boost passed up from his lap. Cleaning up after themselves, James and Boost paid for their meal and went on their way, idly chatting between themselves as they walked downtown.