[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/s5el74t.gif[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/rKLlkvt.png[/img]
[sub][color=#9e0b0f]▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃[/color][/sub]
[sub][color=dimgray][b][color=a0410d]Location |[/color][/b] In-N-Out Burger
[b][color=a0410d]Los Angeles Time |[/color][/b] 11:53 AM    /    [b][color=a0410d]London Time |[/color][/b] 6:53 PM    /    [b][color=a0410d]Moscow Time |[/color][/b] 9:53 PM
[b][color=a0410d]Interacting with |[/color][/b]  Fuck it, the Gearheads.   / [@Hoekage] [@CosmicComet] [@TootsiePop] [@GhostMami] [@BleedingLover]  [/color][/sub]
[sub][color=#9e0b0f]▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃[/color][/sub][/center] 

Aleks liked the way the ice rattled in his cup. It made him imagine the sound Yessi would make if he lost patience and started choking her. His fingers, clutching the pliable rim of the plastic lid, released their hold on his empty drink; the Russian reached his arm around and trapped Yessi's neck in the crook of his right arm, pulling her away from Chris and closer to him in a one-armed chokehold. Or an embrace, if you thought he was feeling particularly affectionate towards Yessi. Aleks chose to think of the involuntary motion as a hybrid of the two. It kept the bitch contained for a moment, long enough for him to plant a quick kiss on the top of her head that he was certain she would complain about. He was pretty sure she'd just had her hair done; doubtless, she would start complaining that his evil Communist lips and fingertips would only fuck it up. Fine. He was sure one of his other assembled best friends would be happy to be his go-to kiss. 

AJ could have used a firm making out with, frankly, in order to bring him back to the plane of reality they all inhabited and not the one he had journeyed to where they all harbored Jamie in their shadows. Knowing him, he would argue that any kiss planted on him wasn't as good as one he could have planted, but Aleks let that slide like the bullshit it was. AJ couldn't even tie a cherry stem with his tongue, let alone do it on beat to most songs below 120 bpm.

Like Aleks could.

The surly Russian boy leaned forward on the bench, resting his elbow on the edge of the table and cupping two fingers under his chin. His food sat underneath him, momentarily untouched. If he didn't start going in on it soon, Yessi and Chris would begin to repurpose and cannibalize his order, flinging half of it at AJ while polishing off the remainder by themselves. He [i]was[/i] hungry, too. But it would be rude to start digging in like he was at a trough - and especially after there were new arrivals present. Monica and Manda were connected like chain links at the elbow, so the smile and brief wink he directed specifically at Monica was aimed at both of them. He waved at them with his fingers before finally letting Yessi go and beating her to the punch by grabbing a French fry. 

[color=a0410d]"Hey,"[/color] he said in a simple, general greeting to the new arrivals, raising the fry and lowering it from horizontal to vertical, then back, then forth. His next sentence was directed to Monica specifically: [color=a0410d]"Should've brought my bike instead. I still need the practice."[/color]

[color=#B048B5]❝Glad to see you springing back to your natural self. Oh, you.❞[/color]

Aleks' mouth tightened in mock severity. 

[color=a0410d]"I am not [i]joking,[/i]"[/color] the Russian insisted, though his soft drawl made the [i]j-[/i] sound more pronounced and gave it a faintly pouty sound. [color=a0410d]"It is [i]bugging[/i] me."[/color]

There was a faint beat of silence as he kept raising and lowering the French fry, closing an eye so that he could imagine its shape was framing his [i]bratán's[/i] chin, then his jawline. Then his wrist bent forward so that he could flick the spud at AJ's face, just as Yessi had. Aleks' mouth tightened again, this time into a coquettish smile. 

[color=a0410d]"I raised you to have better table manners, God damn it."[/color]