Harmonious Unity - Tags Josh, Cobalt

[Benjamin Rhodes]

"You have an apointment at four later but the rest of your day's pretty free."

And that was all Ben needed to know as he punched in the already familiar numbers of one Josh Bernstein. It had been ages since they actually had lunch together and the last time they actually met was when Josh was still a bit at odds with his health so Ben took the opportunity to call the man up to have lunch. At the thought of actually meeting some of Josh's friends [one whose name was Cobalt no less, how cool was that?], Ben asked if Casey wanted anything but she said it was fine and that her husband was coming over for lunch.

So off Ben went downtown, wondering if he should call Lia up to join him but he didn't know her schedule yet so decided not to bother her at work. Hammel didn't seem to be a place you could actually walk up to and ask if you could kidnap one of the powers trainer for lunch. The walk down to the restaurant Josh had spoken about wasn't too bad despite the air being a little crisp and biting into his thin light blue shirt. He should have brought his jacket but being of sound mind, he just simply forgot in all the excitement of meeting up with a friend.

It was a little ridiculous how excited he was but Ben hadn't been around friends since the night he went to the pub with his college buddies. It wasn't hard to spot Josh and with a wave to the older man, he was met with a vaguely familiar face. As he approached the duo closer, the word 'party' was mentioned and Ben grinned, sliding the third chair out and sitting down. "What's this I hear about a party?" he piped in with a little nod to the man on his left. "You must be Cobalt. Ben Rhodes. Nice to meet you." He held his hand out with a warm smile to the man.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I was planning on dinner with my parents at the home, then heading over to Riley's party."

Josh had been relieved to discover that none of his friends had replaced him in his time spent off work; it was his first week back and not only was Cobalt eager to resume their lunch dates but Ben had called and wanted to socialize, as well. Of course he had told the younger man to head on over, so long as he didn't mind meeting a friend, though he knew that the psychologist never minded meeting new people: they were alike in that way. He'd warned Cobalt ahead of time that a friend of his was joining them ("He's extremely nice and very smart and he neither attended Hammel nor works there, so no worries about hearing that it's the land of milk and honey.") because he knew that there was a possibility of his friend's social anxiety flaring up if he wasn't given time to adjust to the idea of there being three of them instead of only two.

Thus it was that he was at the diner with Cobalt, discussing his New Years plans when Ben waltzed over and plopped himself down beside the shorter of the men. "Ah, Ben!" He greeted from the other side of Cobalt, "Glad you could make it. We were just discussing our plans for New Years. Riley Adams is hosting a party, are you going?"

Since Riley and Ben were both local they very well could be acquainted, but he'd never heard either one mention the other, so he couldn't be sure. He'd met Ben through Sean and while Riley likewise was acquainted with the telepath that was through school and not because they otherwise traveled in the same social circles.

"And are you going to the party?" He turned his attention to Cobalt. His friend wasn't terrifically fond of things like parties, but he had attended the Winter Bash earlier in the month and he also was friends with Riley, so there was a chance he might go. Besides, it was a party thrown by Riley, who was almost as introverted as Cobalt, so how many people could there be in attendance?

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt was glad Josh was feeling well enough to resume their lunch meetings, it was like he was staggering back into normalcy after the attack in the woods. He’d tried to keep a surreptitious eye on Josh after that, not so much for his physical health, but for any emotional trouble his friend may have. Getting beaten up was, as per the biggest understatement in Cobalt’s life, scary. And he wanted to make sure that Josh wasn’t going through anything alone. The other lawyer, however, seemed to be coping well and as far as Cobalt could tell, he was on the mend mentally as well as physically. And if he’d even suspected Josh’s fear of being replaced, he would swiftly beat Josh over the head, injuries or no. Thankfully, it hadn’t gotten to that point.

So now here they were, having lunch again like things were getting back to normal. Albeit with a few changes. Leila wasn’t feeling well again. Which was a problem only in that she had been getting ill with more frequency than before. She looked pale more often and was less of a smart alek than usual. Cobalt made a mental note to ask her about it with more insistence. Later. Another change was that Josh had invited another friend to join. Which was fine, at this point, Cobalt was getting pretty used to the fact that everyone had to meet everyone in a town as small as Pilot Ridge. So they were waiting for him—Ben Rhodes, Josh said his name was—and discussing an unexpected turn of events: Riley was going to throw a New Year’s party.

Cobalt nodded at Josh’s general plans. “To be honest, I’m surprised Riley wants to do something like this. I mean, he’s not all that comfortable around alcohol and people getting more than a little drunk.” He gave Josh a pointed look. “But still, I guess--” He was cut off by the arrival of a tall, amiable-looking man who sat himself down between Josh and himself.

“Oh, hey. Nice to meet you Ben. Uh. Yeah, Cobalt Weaver.” He shook the man’s hand, the shadows curling up his arm. He wished they wouldn’t do that when he was surprised. It was a little annoying. He let Josh explain Riley’s plan to host a New Year’s party as he scrutinized Ben. He looked considerably younger than Josh, and he’d already told Cobalt that Ben neither worked for, or went to, Hammel. He wondered how they knew each other.

“Hm?” Cobalt jerked his attention back to his friend as Josh directed a question at him, “Oh. Uh…” He thought about it. On one hand, the last time he’d been at a group gathering at someone’s house, it had gone…poorly was a word. On the other, the holiday party went relatively well, and that was with considerably more people. “Ah, I suppose so. Riley’ll need someone who won’t drink excessively.” He eyed Josh again, a teasing grin forming on his lips. Baiting Josh was surprisingly amusing, actually.

“So, how do you two happen to know each other?” Cobalt asked, gesturing between Josh and Ben. “Was it through work or..?” He’d never heard Josh mention Ben when they talked shop, but considering Josh, that wasn’t really all that surprising. The man could be a little inattentive sometimes.

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Stiffening when the shadows started to creep up the other man's arm, Ben looked at it for a moment, a mix of curiosity and fear filling his eyes. And as distracted as he was to the shadows, the other man's introduction didn't go unnoticed and Ben sheepishly realised how long he had been staring at the man's hand. "I'm...I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you too. Oh wait, I said that already. Wow." He embarrassedly started to rub his forehead.

He was then directed to Josh's question about plans for New Years. Since he would be spending Christmas with his family, New Years was supposed to be with friends but everyone else had already made other plans with their significant others, leaving Ben to spend it with Lia. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing but he was used to enjoying the holiday with a group of people. And having a quiet New Years was a change of pace.

But a party hosted by someone whose name just happened to coincide with the man he had met at the charity bash briefly wasn't a bad idea. "This...Riley Adams. He doesn't happen to be a huge dude with a scruffy face does he? Was with a guy who was having drinks with a dude in a fedora?" Ben gesticulated a lot throughout his description, hoping he didn't look like a complete idiot.

Cobalt and Josh's playful banter didn't go unnoticed as Ben scoured the menu for something he could eat without having to take any tums later. He was just about to settle an argument with himself between a nice plate of spaghetti and a simple panini dish when he was drawn to Cobalt's question. With a smile that betrayed his earlier feelings about the shadows creeping up the older man's arms, Ben shook his head. "Mutual friend. How is Sean by the way? I haven't been to the center in awhile and I didn't get the chance to speak much during the bash which now come to think of it you were there, weren't you Cobalt?" Ben actually managed to pause in between the sentences this time.

"I saw Riley, if we are talking about the same guy I mean, walk up to you that night." He gave a small smile. He didn't mean to dominate the conversation but the shadows did creep him out. He was sure he wouldn't be talking this much had the shadows not made its appearance. Sure he was completely tolerant of metas and he was greatly fascinated by them but seeing dark wisps move like that on someone's arm...well...

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I won't drink excessively!" Josh protested, face flushing in embarrassment at his friend's needling. Obviously Cobalt was never going to let him live down the poker party, or at least the drinking that had occurred. He was still in the dark as to what had occurred after he'd gotten drunk; he couldn't remember and his friends weren't telling. He'd probably done something horribly embarrassing, like dancing on the table. He was probably glad he didn't remember. "You make me sound like an alcoholic. I don't just go home and swill beer, you know, I only drink socially. And I haven't drunk anything in weeks. I think I can be allowed one glass of champagne to ring in the new year, if nothing else."

He nodded at the description of Riley, failing to notice the uncomfortable look Ben was giving Cobalt's shadows. "That sounds like him. He's a giant. Wasn't he with Mr. Gage?" He hadn't actually witnessed this himself, he'd only heard about it later through Cobalt and Sean, so he couldn't comment on people with fedoras. Of course, he felt that he had reason to not notice the landscaper's date: he'd been distracted by crowds of people asking about his health and then his mother had come over and demanded all his attention.

"Sean is doing well. I don't believe he's been by the center, himself. He's had a lot on his mind lately." Between reigning in students, the local terrorist organization and caring for beat up friends Josh didn't know how the telepath had any free time at all. If he had gone by the center lately he hadn't mentioned it to Josh. Not that he was going to tell Ben any of this; instead he simply added, "The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone."

He pushed his menu to the side of the table and eyed the psychologist curiously. "So you don't really know Riley, then? Did you want to come to the party? Should be fun. And even if he decides to be a spoilsport and not serve any alcohol, he bakes a mean pie. And he makes fantastic cheese dip. The snacks alone will be worth going for. But even if they weren't, he's a nice guy. You should come, if you don't have any plans."

[Cobalt Weaver]

For a second, Cobalt couldn’t quite place the look of bewilderment and alarm that came on the other man’s face when they shook hands. Then he followed the man’s gaze to where the shadows were weaving smoky trails up Cobalt’s arm. Oh. He moved to break the handshake, but Ben was apparently too freaked out by the shadows to pay attention to how long they were holding the handshake. He was about ready to pry the other man’s hand off his own, when Ben finally realized what he was doing. Cobalt kept his expression neutral as Ben stammered through an awkward apology. Once upon a time, Cobalt would have mumbled something self-consciously, tucked his shadows away and felt a little freakish the rest of lunch. But that was a rather long time ago, and Cobalt didn’t really care how weirded out Ben got about his powers, friend of Josh’s or no. He knew the man couldn’t actually dislike metas, or Josh wouldn’t associate with him, but still. The stares got a little tiring after a while; and he rather liked his power, usefulness (or lack thereof) notwithstanding.

“I’m sorry,” Cobalt said coolly, arching his eyebrow in a challenge, “Did I make you feel uncomfortable?” He flicked his fingers and little tendrils of dark wove between his fingers to indicate what he was talking about. “Do let me know.” He added, a little distain coloring his words. He really had no patience for any nonsense today; besides, they were just shadows, they couldn’t actually do anything.

Cobalt dropped his glaring demeanor instantly upon Josh’s protestations against his drinking habits. Cobalt laughed and held up his hands in surrender, allowing the shadows to drag out with his movements. Okay, so maybe he was being a little immature, but eh. He didn’t really care. “I never said anything about you being the one who was drinking!” Cobalt laughed, giving his friend an over-innocent face, “You’re the one who brought yourself into this conversation; maybe I wasn’t even talking about you.” Cobalt snorted, rolling his eyes, “Oh no. Nothing in weeks? You poor thing. Your life is pain.” Cobalt laid the sarcasm on thick. “But I suppose one glass of champagne won’t hurt.” He grinned at his friend, thoroughly enjoying Josh’s reactions.

And…Ben was still nervous around him. Oh for the love… Cobalt stared at the man flatly as he babbled. “Yeah, that’s the same guy.” He responded curtly, his annoyance (and vague embarrassment; his shadows weren’t that weird, come on.) and his admittedly petty desire to make the man actually ask for Cobalt to stop using his power causing his shadows to jump and coil around his shoulders. He remained relatively silent about Riley’s party. If Ben decided to come, then fine, but it wasn’t as though Cobalt wanted him to. He was annoying.

He was momentarily confused by Josh and Ben’s mentions of “the center”. Cobalt didn’t know what that was, exactly, so in the interest of carrying on polite conversation and to prevent himself from being a total ass to Josh’s friend, he asked, “What center are you guys talking about?”

[Benjamin Rhodes]

A Mr. Gage was mentioned and Ben was suddenly lost. As much as the man was friendly, it wasn't like he knew everyone but they were always potential friends just waiting to happen so he made a mental note of this Mr. Gage before he inserted himself into the conversation only to have Cobalt jeer at him, further playing with his shadows.

Ben knew the initial appearance of his powers was involuntary but the second time round, there was a certain malice in the other man's actions that Ben disapproved of.

"I'm sorry, did I make you feel uncomfortable? Do let me know."

The obvious sarcasm dripping from every syllable of the man's words made Ben frown. True, it was obvious that Ben had offended the meta but he hadn't meant to do so. The fact that the man seemed to think he did was an offense to Ben and his very nature. It actually shut the psychologist up as Josh and Cobalt continued their friendly banter.

Ben just gave Josh forced smiles and generic answers before Cobalt actually addressed him by confirming Riley's identity. He still saw the deliberate shadowplay but he was no longer fearful of it rather, annoyed by the petulance of the whole act.

Swallowing his pride, like he always did whenever he was challenged in any way, the question about the center was answered in a careful tone. "Dr. Neville and I frequent the LGBT center uptown. That was how we intially met." He even plastered a semi-genuine smile on his face. It occurred to him momentarily that he was grateful that Josh might not even realise the hostility between the two men. And if he did, he was good to not say anything about it.

Ben put in the effort to maintain his cool which became easy when food was mentioned. Not one to turn down free food, Ben grinned easily at Josh. "Might I bring a guest? My housemate shouldn't be alone on New Year's Eve. Well, she shouldn't be alone at all." Ben shook his head affectionately when thoughts of Yulia came to mind. In just a few weeks, Ben had grown so accustomed to the dark haired Russian that he saw her as his little sister.

"Shall we order?" he asked, making sure to look at Josh and Cobalt as he said so.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh furrowed his brow in confusion at Cobalt's display. Was Ben uncomfortable? About Cobalt's powers? The younger man had never displayed any fear of metas in the (admittedly brief) time they had known one another; besides, he was friends with Sean, and the telepath was an excellent judge of character. He wasn't likely to hang around someone who was metaphobic, unless they were his family, in which case a deep sense of familiar obligation compelled him to attend anything he was invited to -- which wasn't all that much these days. The Neville brood's penchant for outcasting those who didn't conform was a source of bafflement for Josh.

There was a tiny part of him that said Ben was perfectly within his rights to be afraid, that if the meta population wanted to dominate they could, but he ruthlessly squashed that thought. He had these thoughts more and more frequently since being attacked, but he'd so far managed to avoid having to admit to them. He didn't want to hurt the feelings of people like Cobalt or Sean or Clarisse. They weren't using their powers for ill; whether or not they could was irrelevant.

His attention was brought back to reality by the shadow manipulators snarky commentary on his drinking habits. Great, one night of indulgence and his reputation was tarnished forever. "I...what?" He stammered indignantly, slightly annoyed with himself for taking the bait. No, Cobalt hadn't outright mentioned him but the implication had been obvious enough. "Just because....I....what....agh." He finished, quite forgetting which point he was supposed to be arguing.

Fortunately Ben took that moment to respond to the query about Riley's party. "Mmm. The invitations said and guest," He mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You know, perhaps I had better call Riley and ask. I don't have a guest myself, but I don't know how he would feel if I showed up with two of them...." And then an idea occurred to him. A brilliant idea, in his mind. "Wait, Cobalt, you don't have a guest, do you?" He knew that Riley was already acquainted with Elaine and assumed that she therefore had her own invitation. "One of us could take Ben and the other his housemate." He had yet to meet Yulia as she had moved in with his friend while he was recuperating from his run in with Reese and Lala, but he assumed that if Ben could tolerate living with her she must be a nice person. "Don't think Riley could object to that." And as the wording had specified guest rather than date he could go with anyone he wanted without having to defend that decision.

"Oh, ordering? I...suppose food is what we've all met here for." He acknowledged, glancing about for the waiter. The young, dread-locked man caught his eye and rather obligingly hastened in their direction. "I think we're ready." He announced before immediately launching into a (short) list of what he would like for lunch, deciding that he and Ben being ready to order was good enough and that Cobalt would just have to catch up if he hadn't made up his mind yet.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt noted Josh’s troubled expression as he watched Cobalt and Ben glare at each other. Well… to be accurate, it was Ben glaring and Cobalt acting petty, but either way, Josh looked pensive and thoughtful. And here came the guilt. It was not lost on Cobalt that he was systematically nasty to every one of Josh’s friends that he met so far. Which he didn’t quite know what to do with. Granted, he felt entirely justified about disliking Sean and being irritated with Ben. He and Sean’s personalities unfortunately clashed, among other things, and that was that. As for Ben… so maybe he shouldn’t have been so petty, but it really did get tiring, having people react negatively to something he couldn’t control. Just because he was used to it didn’t mean he had to put up with it. And it didn’t help that instead of saying something, anything, Ben was just going to sulk. Whatever.

But then there was Leila. And the promise he made to her that he would try to be a better person. Goddammit.

“Uh. Ben.” Cobalt sighed, rubbing his eyes. Shadows coiled around his shoulders—unintentionally this time—in a subconscious attempt to hide the manipulator. He flicked them away; show of good faith. “I… we got off on the wrong foot. Which was, for once, not started by me, but that’s not the point.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. He hated apologies. So. Much. “I…did not appreciate your reaction to something I didn’t actually mean to do, which made me uncomfortable and I reacted to it. Poorly. You’re Josh’s friend, and I don’t get along with enough of his friends anyways, so…” He shrugged, “At the very least, we should call a truce.” He knew he didn’t look all too thrilled about this, but dammit, there was only so much he could do.

He did, however, crack a grin at Josh’s frustration. “Victory.” He proclaimed, taking a sip from his water. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I’m a lawyer. It could also contribute to the fact that I have very little friends.” He smirked at his friend, “You know I’m kidding. I know you’re not a complete drunk. I don’t think your job would be okay with that.”

At Ben’s explanation of the center, Cobalt nodded, “Ah, I see. I didn’t know we even had an LGBT center in Pilot Ridge.” While Cobalt didn’t want to make assumptions, he figured it was probably safe to assume that Ben, much like (what appeared to be) the majority of his new friends now, was also gay. Also, Ben was apparently a friend of Sean’s. Like the majority of his new friends. Wonderful.

Cobalt shrugged easily at Josh’s suggestion for Riley’s party, “Sure, that sounds fine with me. We’ll all end up in the same place anyways.”

“Oh right. Food.” Cobalt gave his order to the dread-locked man and turned to the others. He… didn’t know what else to say, but he felt that he should at least try to contribute to the conversation. “So, uh. Ben. What is it that you do?”

[Benjamin Rhodes]

Ben couldn't help but chuckle when Josh was caught unaware by Cobalt's teasing. He of course didn't know what even happened that night. He was just told that it happened and everything else was a 'blur'. What he wouldn't give to have been there to see his two older friends get wasted enough not to remember what happened.

He was actually starting to get into a good mood when he heard Cobalt sigh. Deciding not to take too much a notice that the shadows were rolling in around the smaller man again, he turned his attention as Cobalt coughed up the funniest (read: sarcasm) apology Ben had ever gotten in his entire life. But Ben saw Cobalt pushing the shadows away and that counted for something so the younger man knocked down his pride, much to the dismay of his petty self, and gave the other man the most genuine smile he could muster given the circumstances.

"I'm...sorry for my overreaction to your involuntary actions. I - I should have known better." He was about to add that given his occupation, he should have known how to handle such a thing. His patients were not all human. He's had his fair share of metas and they have thrown tantrums before and he ought to have known how to conduct himself. Not that it matters that Cobalt was an adult with a power that had briefly freaked Ben out. Well, slightly lesser now but still...

At the suggestion that Ben and Yulia be either of their guests to the aforementioned party, Ben paused a bit to see if Cobalt would actually be agreeable and once he was assured that the older man wouldn't mind, Ben shrugged and gave a smile. "I wouldn't mind either. Is there anything you think I should bring? Now that you've mentioned pies, I highly doubt whatever I bring would compare." He chuckled lightly.

When the waiter arrived, Ben waited till the other two had ordered before he gave in his own orders. After collecting the menus, the waiter walked off and Ben turned directly to Cobalt when the man asked what he did. "Oh, I'm a child psychologist. My practice is just a few blocks away." He answered with a smile. "So both of you know each other by occupation? Or..." he left a lingering question, open to interpretation. He obviously didn't know Cobalt's orientation despite knowing Josh's simply by the way he brought himself around Sean, specifically.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh breathed an audible sigh of relief after Cobalt's apology. He still didn't understand the shadow manipulator's obvious dislike of Sean, whom he thought was one of the easiest people on the planet to get along with; Ben was another person he considered personable and difficult to dislike, another person he hadn't expected to instantly start off arguing with the other attorney. He didn't have many close friends in Pilot Ridge (yet, he told himself) so he wanted those he had to get along with one another. Cobalt was clearly capable of getting along with people, as he demonstrated with Elaine and Leila, but somehow, when it came to Sean (and Ben)....maybe it was their professions? Did he just not like people who could be considered shrinks? Whatever the case, he was mature enough to try and rectify things. And fortunately, Ben was mature enough to accept the apology and admit that he'd reacted poorly to the other attorney's powers.

He crossed his arms and made an exaggeratedly petulant face at Cobalt's smug proclamation of victory. "I concede, you win." He grumbled.

"Do we have to bring something?" He gaped at Ben. "I don't....I don't recall the invitation mentioning bringing anything, I'd have to check. I doubt it, though, I'm sure Riley will make enough food to feed an army." He grinned, pleased that his idea had been met with no resistance. They could figure out who was taking whom later, assuming that they didn't just all pile in one car; he was going to have to beg someone else for a ride, anyway, might as well all carpool.

He nodded at Ben's query, "Sort of. Cobalt works for the only other law firm in town. Or I should say, he is the other law firm, along with Leila. She couldn't make it today, though..." This was a trend lately, but unlike Cobalt he wasn't too worried; winter tended to bring with it all sorts of nasty colds and other illnesses, but they were rarely serious. "I ran into Leila not long after they'd set up shop and she suggested Cobalt and I get to know one another." At least that had worked out, even if her attempts at throwing a party had failed horrendously. That was what she got for sneaking around behind her employer's back.

He leaned out of the way as their waiter hurried back, tray in hand. How unexpectedly quick: he made a mental note to come to the diner more often. The place he usually went had a tendency to be on the lackadaisical side. "I'm starving." He announced before attacking his food with gusto, dropping conversation for the moment.

(and wrapped for Josh)