Fireworks and Revelations (Ricio, Jaythen)

[Chuck Miller]

((OOC: this takes place on July 4th))

It had been nearly a month since Chuck had spent the night out doors and met (though he didn't know it) his younger brother's friend, Jaythen. He hadn't seen Ricio much since then, not long enough to bring up the incident. He had been far too busy with work, and as such their interactions had been limited to all too brief greetings, and sometimes gifts of beer as apologies for not being able to speak longer. He felt bad about it; he had, after all, promised to get together with him more, but work had been so hectic lately.

He had, however, seen Ricio long enough to ask him to meet him at the lake on the fourth of July, and even mentioned he could bring his friend, if he wanted. There were supposed to be fireworks in the evening, and before the display began they could try cooking out again. That was about the best he could offer, if he wanted to have dinner with his brother; he couldn't cook in, and there were only so many foods that traveled well for picnics.

And so he found himself once more flipping burgers while he waited to see if his brother would show up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, a relief after the rain that had plagued Pilot Ridge the week before. Even yesterday had been cloudy, but today was bright and sunny - and also rather hot and humid, but he would take that over rain.

[Jaythen McKay]

Jaythen was really excited to be invited to go see Ricio’s brother. It only seemed fitting, especially after that blow out of a family picnic Ricio had seen at Jaythen’s place. JT had met up with Ricio a couple of times since then, usually when he was out wandering and Ricio happened to be in the area. Ricio was a great person to talk to, though JT never had brought up meeting someone who knew the bum. He liked keeping the best jokes to himself.

“I don’t know how you do it man,” JT said to Ricio as they walked to the lake. Neither of them had a car, so this seemed the most appropriate. Jaythen waved a hand in front of his face as though he were going to pass out. “I could never stand the heat like this, I’d rather it start raining. I know it’d ruin the fireworks and everything, but still, it better get cooler.” JT shot Ricio a smile. Tonight would be fun. The last time JT played with fireworks it hadn’t gone so well.

JT had brought dessert which consisted of a tub full of strawberry jello. Let’s just say his cooking skills aren’t very, mmm, good. But he figured Ricio was getting tired of sandwiches. He knew he was. Either way, this brother of Ricio’s probably didn’t want sandwiches either.

“What did you say was his name again? Chuck, right?” Jaythen looked at the lake as they approached, and as he saw a very familiar looking man making burgers, his mouth watered. Oh, and he also started freaking out in his head. This could not be happening right now.

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio never grew tired of the picnics with his older brother. Sure it meant that hamburgers and hotdogs were usually part of every meal that they shared. But as long as Ricio could stay in the open air he wouldn’t have minded if they chewed on the grass.

He also excited to have his friend and his brother finally meet. Not that he thought they would be best pals or anything, but it would be nice to prove to Chuck that he could have ‘normal’ relationships. And he owed Jaythen a family picnic anyway. Of course he doubted that the Miller picnic and would be much like the one with all of Jaythen’s siblings.

“It’s a gift,” Ricio said, grinning. He couldn’t recall if he had ever explained to his friend how his powers worked, but he wasn’t worried about it if he hadn’t. As a child he had sometimes wished he had a more visible power, something like Jaythen’s ability, just so he wouldn’t have to always explain how it worked. But now he wouldn’t change his gift for anything. It was one of the main reason his life was so comfortable.

“Yeah, well actually it’s Iwenjiora,” Ricio said, laughing a little. “But stick with Chuck it’s much easier to remember…and say.” When he had seen that Jaythen had brought along a dessert he felt a little guilty. But it didn’t last long. After all, his brother never expected him to chip in any food. And he doubted that Jaythen would be surprised to find him empty handed either.

“There’s the handsome devil now,” Ricio said, waving to Chuck as the two approached. “Chuck, Jaythen. Jaythen, Chuck.” Once they two were introduced, Ricio turned his attention to the burgers. “Still don’t trust me to be the chef?”

[Chuck Miller]

Chuck raised one hand in greeting when Ricio and his friend arrived, though he kept his attention on the grill rather than the friend.

"So I get to meet the elusive Jaythen at last," He quipped, "I'll shake your hand later, when mine aren't full." He shrugged apologetically; he didn't want to burn the burger patties, after all. Although, if Ricio was offering to take over he would accept that; he didn't really think his brother would add road kill to their meal, and even if he would, there was no way he could without either Chuck or Jaythen noticing. "Do you want a shift? It is roasting, I could use a break."

To emphasize that point he wiped his brow with the hand holding the beer; even the can of beer wasn't cool enough to help.

"This heat wave is awful," He sighed, "but I guess it's better than fireworks in the rain."

[Jaythen McKay]

“Iwenjiora or Chuck, hmm, I guess whatever he prefers suits me.” JT said with a shrug. Though if it were him and he had such a cool name, he wouldn’t shorten it just to make it easier on everyone else.

“Hey,” Jaythen said to Chuck, waving his hand, the other holding the pot of Jello, “or JT, doesn’t matter to me.” Wow, he was rhyming. JT laughed and put his dessert down on the ground. “Elusive? I thought I stuck out in a crowd,” he said, frowning. Oh was he going to play this one off. Unless Ricio really had mentioned JT to Chuck, this was going to be very awkward. And he didn’t want to fess up, that would ruin the whole joke.

“This is going to melt, isn’t it?” Jaythen asked, agreeing with Chuck and kicking at his bowl. He had smaller bowls and spoons as well. He crouched down over his dessert, and opened it up. He gave it a good shake. Nope, it was still wiggly. “I feel like having dessert first,” he said, spooning himself a serving, doing his best to catch the Jello in the bowl as it flopped around. Grace was not his middle name.

[Ricio Miller]

“Is it?” Ricio said, looking up at the sun as if he were trying to gauge the temperature. “I hadn’t noticed.” He grinned, taking the spatula from his brother as he shrugged off his jacket. Not because he was worried about over-heating, but he didn’t want his sleeves to get singed without him noticing.

“It’s not like I’ve been hiding him from you,” Ricio said, grinning at his brother before turning to check how the burgers were doing. He considered making a joke about how his brother always wanted to share toys, but decided that Jaythen probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

“Dessert sounds great. It’ll be a few before these are done anyway,” he continued, reaching into the cooler to help himself to a beer. “So did you hear anything about an outdoor play?”

[Chuck Miller]

"Are you sure you haven't been?" Chuck retorted, shaking his head in mock disbelief. "And you didn't even bring him with you last time I saw you, even after telling me about him."

Of course Ricio couldn't tell it was roasting; sometimes he forgot about that, which was awful of him, given that Reese was his brother. But although it was an unusual power, it wasn't showy in the least, and so it was easy to forget about.

"Yeah, probably," He agreed with JT's assessment, "Dessert first is probably a good idea."

He waved vaguely in the direction of the cooler with his spatula, "Even better, now we get to answer the age old question, is jello good with beer."

[Jaythen McKay]

JT glanced from Ricio to Chuck, wondering how that comment would be taken. What, he needed was a distraction. Jello was a good distraction.

Jaythen grinned at Ricio. “My kind of man right here,” he said, setting his bowl on the ground. The ants wouldn’t touch it if they knew what was good for them. JT also spooned another bowl for Ricio, and got up to set it by the barbeque. “I haven’t heard anything from Eugene, still trying to work him up to the idea.” He went back to the big bowl of jello, getting one ready for Chuck. “I’m pretty sure I don’t wanna be outside in a costume though,” he laughed at himself.

Helping himself to a beer as well, JT offered the bowl to Chuck. “To be or not to be, that is the question.” He chuckled a bit and sat down right on the grass. “Have you ever tried eating jello and drinking a beer? It’s impossible.” And with that, he had a mouthful of each, one after the other, and nodded his head a couple times. “Hm, not bad. An acquired taste, but not bad.” He stuck to the jello and decided to save the beer for the food.

“How’re those burgers coming Reese?” Best to keep everyone good and distracted.

[Ricio Miller]

“Well sorry, but it’s not like we’re permanently attached at the hip,” he rolled his eyes at Chuck while grinning. He took the bowl of jello from Jaythen, figuring the burgers wouldn’t get too burnt if he took a break to eat some dessert.

“Why’s that? Afraid the ladies won’t enjoy seeing you sweating in tights?” he said, trying to keep the jello in his mouth while he laughed. “That reminds me, do you guys need help painting sets or anything?” Of course Ricio would love to help, assuming there was somewhere outside the theater he could do the work. Or at the very least next to an open door.

“Taste fine to me,” Ricio said, taking a drink from his beer after spooning some more jello into his mouth. “Then again, I’m not sure my taste buds are the best judge here.” He winked at his brother, but restrained himself from wondering out loud what other types of “food” jello would go good with.

“Burgers? Oh right,” Ricio said as he set down his dessert and grabbed the flipper again. “Look done to me.” He started setting them on a plate and although some of them were a little burnt on one side, they didn’t look too horrible. “You guys done with dessert?”

[Chuck Miller]

Chuck rolled his eyes at the running commentary between Ricio and Jaythen, although he couldn't help but smile instead of being truly annoyed. While his brother and friend bantered he continued to scarf jello, licking his bowl clean by the time the burgers were ready.

"Mmm, nothing like the smell of charred burger on a hot day." He sniffed appreciatively, mouth watering at the thought. Of course, there would be much more beer drunk before the end of the day. Maybe some water, even, since beer wasn't likely to actually hydrate him, and it was absurdly hot.

"I'm done!" He offered, picking up Ricio's discarded bowl and stacking it on his empty one before turning to Jaythen, holding out a hand, "What about you?"

[Jaythen McKay]

“Oh I think they’d enjoy it alright,” JT said good naturedly, “that doesn’t mean I would.” Sweating was already part of the job, the bright stage lights were enough to bear, why would he want to do that in the outdoors? Ugh, no thank you. Nodding JT smiled at Reese, “I’m sure I could fit you in somewhere, we won’t turn away helpful hands.”

“I’m done!” JT said, handing his over to Chuck’s outstretched hand, smiling at him only for an instant before turning away. Besides, he was looking forward to the burgers, even the burnt ones. Food was food.

Standing, JT made his way over to the grill and picked up a plate, his eyes searching around for ketchup. “Ah, there we are,” he said, opening a bun and pouring ketchup all over it. Not mustard or relish though, that just ruined the flavour. “Alright, hit me!” He said, extending his plate so Ricio wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio laughed at Jayten’s comment about the tights and nodded along as his accepting of help for the theatre. He only hoped he hadn’t offered something that he would have to pull back out of later. Maybe he should tell Jaythen at some point that he wasn’t willing to help if it meant helping indoors. But that could wait for later.

Putting a burger on Jaythen’s waiting bun, he looked over his shoulder at his brother. “Want me to hit you too?” he laughed a little, turning back to the grill to get his own burger together. Unlike Jaythen, Ricio loved condiments and added a little of everything to his burger.

“So Chuck,” Ricio said, once he had sat down and had a few bites of his burger. “Do anything spontaneous lately?” He was already to laugh at Chuck’s attempt to pretend that ordering a different drink at a restaurant or not caring if his socks were sorted were spontaneous. Not that he thought his brother was totally wound up, but he had to have something to pick on him about. And with Jaythen here, he was sure Chuck would appreciate not bringing up relationships or lack thereof.

[Chuck Miller]

Empty bowls were discarded while Ricio served his friend, then Chuck went to fetch his own plate.

"I think that I can manage on my own, but thank you," He responded gravely as he waited for his brother to finish his own burger before swooping in to fix his own.

The question caused him to look up from the ketchup he was smothering his burger in. "Come on!" He sniffed in feigned injury, "Is camping by the lake not spontaneous enough for you?"

Maybe not; that was probably more like daily life for Ricio. Still, he knew how much effort that had taken Chuck!

[Jaythen McKay]

“These,” JT said after swallowing a mouthful of burger, “are delicious. Well done you two.” Honestly, it was a good thing they hadn’t asked him to do some of the grilling, it would’ve been disastrous. Acting he could do, cooking was another story, probably one that ended in small blocks of coal being passed off as edible food.

Spontaneous? JT glanced at Chuck and swallowed another bite, forgetting to chew and started coughing. Oh now he was in trouble. That’s what Ricio’s brother had been talking about. Now the question was, would his prank be lovable and silly, or just bothersome?

“I have a confession to make...” He started. “I may or may not have already met your brother,” he said, his eyes wide as he starred at Reese, “but I swear, I had no idea who he was until later, I mean, what are the chances you change into your friend and then it turns out the guy on the lake turns out to be his brother?” It was the material playwrights could only dream of.

[Ricio Miller]

“At least someone appreciates my cooking skills,” Ricio said. “Chuck always worries I’m going to slip some road kill into his food.” He grinned at Jaythen. Someone he had the feeling that his friend had similar relationships with his siblings.

“You camped out at the lake and didn’t invite me?” Ricio said, confused. He was sure his brother was lying. He just couldn’t picture Chuck sleeping out under the stars, as much as he would like to. It would be good for his brother to live a little more like him. Besides, surely Chuck would have looked him up if he was going to be out. After all the lake was basically his bedroom.

He started grinning when Jaythen started to shed some light on the situation. His smile growing until he started bursting out laughing. ‘You changed into me?” he said, once he caught his breath. “I feel so flattered.”