Catching Up (Trevor)

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

It had been a long day.  Between running through his new job at Mountain View and moving things around his little apartment, Taylor had been spent.  Yet when Trevor had texted him to let him know Nick was working late and invited him out to the Churchkey for drinks, Taylor had had a hard time saying no.  After hopping in the shower to wash off the sweat that had accumulated during moving things around, he'd gotten dressed and headed out to the bar.

It was funny, the three of them together again in Pilot Ridge.  The last time for any length of time had been just before they'd all graduated from Hammel.  After they'd graduated, Taylor had left his brother and best friend behind and traveled to Boston to start his University life.  Almost ten years later, they were back together again.  While he was happy to be back near Trevor, Nick... well, he loved his brother, yes.  He just didn't always like him a whole lot.

He had to commend Trevor on his commitment to Nick.  He couldn't do it if their roles were reversed.  Nick was adorable, but he was also hyper, childish, and didn't think a whole lot of the time.  

But tonight wasn't about Nick.  Tonight he was going to spend time with his best friend, and he was okay with that.  After heading into the bar, he found a small booth and claimed it before firing off another text to Trevor to let him know where he was.  He couldn't drink a lot tonight, not with his first real day of work tomorrow, but he could do a little and relax.

[Trevor Cunningham]

It wasn't that Trevor couldn't handle being home alone. And really he wasn't alone, Tesla was running around. But Taylor had been gone for so long and Trevor really missed having his best friend around. Tonight had been the first chance that he had to get Taylor all to himself too. True, the twin brothers didn't always see eye to eye or get along perfectly. But if he had wanted to go out with Taylor, he had a feeling Nick would have wanted to join in rather than stay alone at home. And as much as Trevor loved his fiance, he really needed some time with his bud.

Trevor got the text just was he was walking into the bar and spotted his friend. He grinned like a moron, literally holding himself back to keep from running across the bar and jumping on top of Taylor.

Trevor had work in the morning too. Still, it was boys night out. And it had been a long time, so he might not be able to hold back so well.

"How the heck are you?" Trevor asked, settling into his seat.

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

Truthfully, despite the busy day and feeling exhausted, Taylor was happy to be out. His apartment was already a little lonely after spending so long in residence at Tufts with roommates and friends around all the time. But Pilot Ridge had been home to him for years too, and a part of him was happy to be back, lonely apartment or not. ... Maybe he'd get a fish or something. He didn't have time for much else.

The long weekend visits had hardly seemed like enough at the time, and definitely not enough now he was sort of moved in. Having Trevor and Nick around all the time was going to mean a lot, regardless of how much of a pest Nick could be. He missed them both, and whenever they could hang out together, he'd be up for it.

Upon seeing Trevor, Taylor lifted off of his seat slighted and raised his hand in greeting, grinning as he settled across from him. "Good. Dead tired today, but good." He flashed another grin. "I officially start seeing patients tomorrow, which is both exciting and terrifying. But. More importantly, how are you? Nick hasn't driven you to drink yet, has he?" In love or not, Nick was always going to be a pain in the butt.

[Trevor Cunningham]

"Sorry about that, dude," Trevor said, patting his friend's shoulder as he took a seat. He only wished that he could heal tiredness. As usual he felt helpless when he couldn't immediately solve the problems of those he cared about. He couldn't help his "mother hen-ness" sometimes.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll be fine...unless you screw up," Trevor teased. Though he had faith in Taylor's abilities as a vet, he couldn't help but try to lighten the mood. He wondered if he should bring Tesla by for a check up, but at the same time he didn't want to smother Taylor on the other man's first day on the job. Maybe once Taylor settled in. Though getting Tesla to the vet was as hard at getting Nicky to the dentist.

Trevor laughed. "Your brother is always driving me crazy," he admitted. Though from the way he was smiling and the look in his eye, there was no doubting that it was the kind of crazy that Trevor could deal with. He hated to get caught in between the twins, but he didn't mind teasing about Nicky with Taylor or vice versa.

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

Taylor shrugged and shook his head at Trevor. "Don't apologize, Trev. It's not your fault. I did it to myself." He could have waited for a day off to move his stuff around. Instead he'd done it the same day he'd gone through his orientation at the clinic. At least with just Trevor around, he had hopes of ending things at a decent time and going home to sleep like a human being. After all the time he'd spent studying the past few years, using every spare second to read, sleeping like a human being really seemed foreign. Hopefully he remembered how to do it.

"Heeeeey." He gave him a side eye, but he quickly broke into a grin. "Don't do that or that'll be all I think about tomorrow. And then I'll blame you." Joking aside, he really was nervous, but he was trying not to show it. Tonight was for fun, not for worrying. "How's your puppy, by the way?" The last time he'd seen the little corgi, the dog had been tiny. And fairly new to the boys. "Nick better be looking after him." Leave it to his brother to get an animal without thinking about it first and then forgetting it has actual needs. But that had always been Nick, and he suspected that Trevor probably had to pick up the pieces behind him.

"Yeah, Nick drives everyone crazy. Too bad he couldn't figure out a way to make a career out of that." Still, there was no mistaking the look on Trevor's face. "You love it, though, don't you?" He smiled fondly. "He's lucky to have you, you know." He glanced over at the bar before turning back to Trevor. "What do you want to drink? It's on me."

[Trevor Cunningham]

Trevor gave his friend a 'you know what I meant' and rolled his eyes for good measure. Trevor said sorry a lot to Taylor and Nick. Probably because they were the two people he cared about most and wanted to be happy. So when they had a bad day he was sorry. Even though it wasn't usually his fault.

He had no concern that about Taylor's first day. If it had been Nick's first day on the job, he would have called ahead to have the paramedic and perhaps the fire department on standby. But Taylor. Taylor wasn't like his brother. He would be fine.

"Tesla is just fine. Nick's spoiled him rotten," Trevor said, leaving out the fact that part of the spoiling was his own doing. It was hard to say no to literal puppy dog eyes. Even more so when Nick and Tesla did them at the same time. Still, no matter Taylor's view on his brother, Nick was better at adulting than his twin give him credit for. And Trevor was less capable than than his friend believed. But it did feel good to take care of Nick. And it felt just as good to have Taylor think that was the way things worked all the time.

"Yeah. He drives me crazy. But I'd be...lost without him," Trevor said. That was as close to emoting as he wanted to do tonight. He'd filled his quota for the day.

"Whatever's cheap and on tap is fine by me," he continued, glad for a way to change of topic he could ride out of talking about love. Not that he didn't love Nick. Not that he was ashamed of loving him. Just that he wasn't so good at talking about his feelings. He'd never been good at it.

"Wanna play some pool or eat first?"

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

Taylor smiled and shook his head slightly. Would Trevor ever give up that habit? Probably not. It was just like him to be overprotective, no matter the situation.

Despite everyone’s faith in him, his friends and family included, not to mention his professors and his practical experience in his last year in school… he was still nervous. He was going to be responsible for real clients and patients now, and that was unnerving. But this was what he’d wanted to do since he was little.

“Of course he has.” He could only imagine Nick’s idea of spoiling, and somehow pictured lots of pizza pieces in the dog’s future. “Just remind him that dogs can’t live on pizza, like he thinks he should.” He wanted to question more on whether or not the dog was even being walked or had vaccines yet, but for now he chose to leave it. He was here to have fun, not badger his best friend.

Still, a fond smile appeared when Trevor mentioned how he’d feel without Nick. As dysfunctional as his twin could be, he knew that he’d never known two people to belong together more than Nick and Trevor. “Yeah. I think he probably feels the same.”

But enough about that. Nick wasn’t there with them, and Taylor was going to take advantage of the time he had his with best friend. “Order what you want, then.” As for the question, he shrugged a little. “I haven’t eaten yet, but if you want to do pool first we can eat after.” He chuckled softly. “You know you’re going to kick my ass. It’s not even a contest.”

[Trevor Cunningham]

“Hold up, you can’t live on pizza?” Trevor asked, feigning shock. “How about pizza and beer? And some green Jello now and then? That counts as a vegetable, right?” He held the shocked and concerned face for a moment longer before cracking up into laughter. Truth be told he knew that he and Nick, and yes Tesla, should probably eat healthier. But healthy food required cooking skills. Frozen pizzas was so much easier. And tastier.

Of course Tesla was spoiled. And maybe a bit overweight. But he was well cared for. And looked after. Up to date on all of his shots and all. Though getting him to the vet was just as hard as getting Nick to the dentist. Hopefully Taylor could help that.

“How about a pitcher and some fries to start so we can play too? Trevor suggested, standing up to get the food and rack up a table. “Of course I’m going to kick your ass. But I can’t play with Nick. He’d poke out his eye. Or chock on the 8-ball.”

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

Taylor shook his head in mock disbelief, his expression getting more and more dismal as Trevor talked. “I don’t know how you and Nick have lived this long and aren’t like… six hundred pounds each.” Still, he had to laugh too as Trevor cracked up. Seriously, he missed this. “I swear if I have to come cook for you two I’m demanding payment.” At least he knew Nick wasn’t fussy. He might complain about too many vegetables on his plate, but he’d still eat them, because they were food.

The idea of the pitcher and fries sat perfectly fine with him. That way he could definitely moderate what he was drinking so he’d be fine for work in the morning. “Yeah, good idea.” He got up to follow his friend, leaning against the pool table as Trevor wandered to deal with food. Once he came back, Taylor grabbed a cue from the wall. “Nick just shouldn’t be allowed to touch anything. Ever.” He had no qualms about saying that kind of stuff about his brother, because it was mostly true. “If he wasn’t breaking himself he’d be breaking a light or hitting someone with the cue.” Not that that ever stopped Nick from trying to play in the first place. “Do you want to break them?” He didn’t care if he was solids or stripes. He didn’t even care if he had his ass thoroughly handed to him. He was just happy to be back in Pilot Ridge, and even happier to be spending time with his best friend.

[Trevor Cunningham]

Trevor laughed. "High metabolisms?" Really sometimes it surprised him too. Though both of them were quite active as well, they did basically live off of junk. He was sure that at some point in the future they were going to have to actually pay more attention to their diets so they didn't die of heart attacks at age 50. But that wasn't something he needed to worry about right now, right?

"Payment?" Trevor teased. "I would think the enjoyment of our company would be enough payment." Really he had a feeling if they happened to invite Taylor over around meal time and point him in the direction of the kitchen food would just happen. Though Taylor was a bit out of practice of it, his friend had always made sure he and Nick were well fed and happy during their younger days.

"Nick should live in a bubble," Trevor agreed. He worried constantly that Nick was going to really hurt himself one day and he wouldn't be there to save him. Over the years he'd stopped being surprised at the amount of damage Nick could do with something so ordinarily safe. He'd seen the man trip over a pen on the floor, almost stab himself in the eye with a paper clip, and singe off half an eyebrow trying to light a candle.

"Nah, I'll let you can go first. Consider it a welcome back present." He poured them both a beer before leaning back against the wall, sipping his own drink as he watched his friend start the game.

"So...besides Nick and me...anyone else you've missed around town?"

[Dr. Taylor Ward]

Taylor shook his head, trying and failing to hold in a slightly exasperated laugh. “Metabolism doesn’t last forever. Enjoy it while you can.” He’d been fortunate enough not just to pay attention when their mother had been cooking before he’d been shipped to Hammel, but to actually take classes on cooking during his time at the meta school. That had carried on at University when he’d made friends with a number of students who also had rudimentary cooking skills. Between them, they’d all managed to get a decent hold on cooking various things before graduation, often holding mini potlucks when they had the time. Sometimes he missed that, but he was happy where he was now.

“Oh no no. I don’t think so. My services are expensive. Company doesn’t cut it.” Especially Nick’s company, most of the time. Not that it had stopped him in the past from taking over their kitchen and producing whatever he could with what they had. It was just what happened with the three of them, and really, he didn’t mind it. But making out like it did was kind of fun too.

“I think they make those…” Granted, it was for some sort of weird sport. “But you know he’d find a way to maim himself even in a bubble.” Growing up with him, he’d stopped being shocked at how fast Nick could find a way to hurt himself, and with what. “I think you’ll just have to live with the fact he’s a giant klutz.” He’d made peace with that himself somewhere in the past twenty five years.

“If you say so.” Rolling his shoulders, Taylor lined up the cue with the racked balls, carefully making the shot. He hadn’t practiced a lot in University, what with the piles and piles of homework, but he could still make a decent shot when he tried. Watching the balls separate and roll, he grinned as the solid orange ball lazily rolled into one of the end pockets. “Would you look at that. Maybe I have a shot after all.”

Before he took another shot, he moved closer to Trevor and picked up his own glass. He’d really missed this. “Not really. I mean, there wasn’t a lot of time to miss anyone when I was up to my eyes in classes and studying. Some days I was lucky I even remembered to eat or sleep.” The last year had been particularly tough, but in the end he was happy for it. He’d finally reached his goal of being a vet, just like his father. Now he just had to prove he could do the job.