Charred (Josef)

[Hart Kenney]

The autumn weather was lovely, with gold and orange and scarlet leaves slowly twirling to the ground. The sky was a pale blue, nary a cloud to be seen, and while the thermometer in his home had claimed the temperature was high seventies the light breeze kept the heat from feeling stifling.

Recently Hart had found himself a roommate, a man by the name of Josef Muller. They had quite a bit in common, it turned out, to Hart's great delight; he needed friends he didn't work with.

He had been the one to suggest they grill by the lake. There were picnic areas, complete with mini grills, available there, and the weather was so nice. Josef had suggested he didn't grill much, but Hart had successfully grilled hot dogs and hamburger patties over Labor Day weekend, so he was fully confident in his abilities.

Of course, they could have grilled at home, but they were in town homes, and the home owner's association had so many rules and regulations about things like grilling on the back deck that Hart couldn't see straight anymore. The lake was beautiful, and it would be a nice change of scenery.

And so they had packed condiment and buns and utensils and made their way to the lake. And Hart was flipping patties while chatting with Josef, his attention more on his roommate than on their intended lunch.

"So how go classes? Students treating you right this week?"

[Josef Muller]

Josef liked having a roommate. He hadn’t had a platonic one since college. And after that, men had been in and out of his apartment until he’d finally met William. And after that… Well, not much need for a roommate when your husband was a successful businessman. But when he’d met Hart, he figured he’d give it a shot. Why not? And so far, it had worked very well. Hart worked hard, and so did Josef, and they had similar interests and…well, since Josef was up at all hours by now, similar hours.

And Hart could grill. Josef found that to be wonderful. He’d never been much good at that. Cooking yes, he could manage that. You could control everything that mattered—the temperature, what went into the food, so on. And besides—he liked things that were a little more complicated. But Hart said he liked to grill, and so when he’d suggested that they head to the lake to enjoy some food, he’d agreed. Just because he couldn’t grill didn’t mean he didn’t like it. So he’d gotten the patties and buns and such and had made it there. Currently, Josef was seated on a table, feet on the bench, watching Hart grill but mostly paying attention to the conversation and to the people who were wandering past.

“They’ve been fine,” he said, glancing over. “I’ve had some interesting people from time to time, but for the most part…” he smiled. “Everyone’s been behaving. Strangely, the older students are the worst. How about you? How’s work going? Anything too interesting?” He could see why "boring" might be better when you worked in the police station.

[Hart Kenney]

"Really? The older ones are the trouble makers? Why, think they know everything already and don't have to listen to you?" He could certainly imagine some of the other adults he knew behaving in such a way. For instance....

"I hear you're giving lessons to Officer Deveraux. Bet she's a real handful." His smile was affectionate; despite her fiery temperament (or perhaps because of it) he was undeniably attracted to his coworker.

Quite fortunately life at Pilot Ridge police station was plenty boring. Nobody ever called the police. Ever. And because he was the only barracks clerk, and he was needed just in case, he was getting paid for essentially reading his email all day long.

It was a pretty sweet deal.

"Not a whole lot going on, no. Had some teenage boys completely high a couple weeks back, jabbering on about pokemon. Officer Deveraux wasn't amused, but Officer Davis thought it was pretty funny. A call to the hospital came through not to long ago, too, but you'd think Pilot Ridge has the best crime rates in the country. Little old ladies don't even call for help getting cats out of their trees."

He shook his head at that.

"I swear, one day I'm gonna see a white-haired grandma hovering and fetching her cat."

This still didn't explain the miraculous absence of crime with such a small police force; whatever Pilot Ridge's government was doing right the rest of the country ought to look into it.

"So how's your niece? Harmony, right? Should try and introduce her and Jess, Jessica needs more friends her age."

Someone other than himself and her "hot" trainer, at least.

[Josef Muller]

“Oh, I only wish that was the case,” Josef sighed, but his eyes were bright and amused. He didn’t really mind when the students acted bizarre. He was supposed to be able to handle it. And besides, they were more amusing than they were irritating. “They’re constantly asking questions and asking to spar with me or each other and making bets on the outcome. Now don’t get me wrong—I used to be like that.” He laughed. “When I was twenty. But I don’t mind. I think they’ll settle down, and if they don’t…well, I’ll just throw them into a separate class or something.”

Officer Deveraux? Oh, right. Sloane. Josef had to remember to be better at formalities. Judging by the smile on his face, he liked the abrupt woman. All right. Josef could work with that. “She’s good, but not so much of a handful as all that.” He shrugged, then eyed his roommate. “I have to ask—is she always that abrupt?”

Jabbering about Pokemon? All right then. He had to search back to some of his younger relatives childhood years to remember what that was, but he thought they had to do with something about animal-like-creatures, and he shook his head. “Well, sounds nice that it’s so slow. But if little old ladies are going to hover anywhere on the planet, it would definitely be here.” He’d definitely seem far stranger things after all.

He physically winced as Hart mentioned Harmony, and took a swig of his beer to fortify himself. “If you think it would mellow her, maybe.” He grimaced. “I’m no good with kids. I don’t even know what I’m doing wrong. Either I’m yelling at her or she’s yelling at me. It’s a mess. I haven’t even spoken to her that much since that first day.” He eyed Hart. “How about you? How’s Jessica doing?”

[Hart Kenney]

"Taking bets in class? Tsk, tsk." Hart chuckled at the thought. He supposed he counted himself lucky that history classes weren't the type that students usually made bets in, although it had come up during games and scrimmages before. He'd squashed that as fast as he could, though; didn't want any angry parents ranting at him about encouraging gambling, not when he'd already been just on the edge of an acceptable teacher. "Oh, man, I thought you were about to say you'd throw them out the window. Into separate classes is much.....nicer of you."

He nodded at the question about Sloane. "Yep, that's her, all right. Not much for tact, I can tell you. But she's not too bad once you get to know her."

Of course, he could have been a bit biased.

His smile slipped at Josef's reaction to the idea of getting Harmony and Jessica together. "Oh. I'm sorry." He hadn't realized that was a sore spot. "She's what, thirteen? That's a tough age. Puberty and hormones comin' on, and stuck between childhood and adulthood. You can't blame kids that age for acting out some. I actually used to teach middle..."

He trailed off as the smell of charred meat greeted his nose, bringing his attention abruptly back to the grill he'd been ignoring in favor of conversation.

He swore, flipping now blackened patties onto the plate at the edge of the grill.

"Aw, I can't believe that. Not paying attention at all."

[Josef Muller]

“It’s a little distracting.” But judging by the way his lips twitched upwards into a smile, he didn’t mind all that much. It was an entertaining distraction, and he liked how he was beginning to enjoy things as he really hadn’t before. That he was beginning to get over William. Not that he talked a lot about that, but he thought he could tell.

“Out the window?” He laughed outright at that. “Hart, I can’t decide if you think too much of me or too little of my temper. I haven’t even separated the two yet. Just tried to separate them from anyone who’s too easily distracted. Out of the window could be fun, though.” But he smiled to show he was kidding.

Ah, whoops. He hadn’t meant to have such a strong reaction to his statement. He winced, then tried to recover his thought process. “Twelve, but yeah. It doesn’t help that I haven’t been any part of her life. But maybe interaction with someone else her own age would work. We should give it a try sometimes, once we’re… talking again.”

He turned his attention back to the grill as Hart spoke, and his lips curled back into a smile. “Oops. Hey, no big. We’ve got some spares.” Josef had a healthy appetite and, on the theory that Hart did has well, had made sure to bring a lot of food. “Want to try again?”

[Hart Kenney]

"Oh, hey, not a temper thing at all!" Hart hastened to reassure his roommate. "If you have to deal with students not listening too many times in a row sometimes you just wanna yell or throw staplers at them or something. And you can do something about it. You make students sign a waiver, right? If you're too annoying the teacher reserves the right to toss you out the window? That's what I would do if I taught self-defense."

Not that he was all that likely to do such a thing; he wasn't prone to either yelling or throwing things. But he certainly had been frustrated at times.

"Twelve, right, still pre-teen." He shrugged. "They can be little cretins at that age, but she'll learn. So what's the deal, you and her mom not on....uh....speaking terms exactly? I can relate there, my sister likes to pretend I don't exist. At least Jessica actually wanted to keep in touch."

He made a mental note that to ask when Josef was on speaking terms with Harmony again; she was a few years younger than Jessica, but she might behave for an older girl.

"Yeahhhh, guess we have to give it another go," He agreed, motioning for his friend to hand him another batch. "Pass 'em this way, this time I'll pay attention."

[Josef Muller]

“I’m just kidding, Hart, I swear.” He smiled at the other man. “I don’t care. And here’s how I see it—they’re paying me to goof off. I don’t care if they don’t listen to me. Eventually they’ll figure out I was right—if I was—and then I’ll get to say ‘I told you so.’ And that moment is very sweet. But I agree. Maybe I should write that up.” He laughed. “It’d be nice to know I just had that option.”

Sometimes he did wonder if he and Hart were somehow twins. They were similar. Hart didn’t have much of a temper, and he and his sister weren’t on speaking terms either… it could get eerie at times. Still, Josef liked Hart, so he wasn’t going to think about it.

“Not really,” he admitted. “It’s mostly my fault in that case. I was stupid.” This was how most things he talked about when he was younger went. He shrugged and continued. “I laughed at Harmony’s name, dismissed her advice, the usual. I’m sorry to hear you aren’t speaking to your sister.” He frowned. “At least you can talk to your nice. And know how to talk to her. Well, I guess neither of us are going anywhere. I think we’ll figure it out, with enough time.”

As asked, he picked up the patties and passed them over to Hart. “So Sloane. What’s she like to work with?”

[Hart Kenney]

"Ahhh." Hart exhaled in understanding as Josef explained why he wasn't close to his sister and her daughter. "That can be fixed though, right? She's not gonna hold a grudge against you for being her brother." He figured that dismissing sisterly advice and not always approving of their choices was just part of the sibling territory. It was only a problem if it went too far, and really since Josef was given some sort of unofficial guardianship over Harmony while she was attending Hammel their relationship couldn't be too damaged.

"Yeah, she'll come around. Just gotta get used to the idea." He agreed, because he couldn't imagine her not; Josef wasn't a social butterfly by any means, but he was sociable enough. He wasn't the sort of person Hart would have considered particularly intimidating, but perhaps that was because they were equals.

At the mention of Sloane he broke into the sort of grin typically described as goofy.

"I don't get to see her when she's on her beat, but when she's in the office she's so orderly and on top of things. You can just look at her and tell she's competent and she knows it and she won't listen to anyone who tries to tear her down."

Also, hot. Very, very hot.

He wasn't going to mention that part, though.

[Josef Muller]

“My sister can hold a grudge for anything.” But it wasn’t said with a lot of heat. Just a wry acceptance. He knew his sister well and didn’t hold that trait against her. She was a good woman and she did care for her daughter. And yes, she was odd. And no, Josef couldn’t understand her decisions. But she was his sister and he cared for her a great deal. “But you’re probably right. Eventually. And when she does, maybe I’ll ask her to put in a good word to your sister.” He eyed him. “If you want me to.” He tried not to pry into Hart’s past much. He knew what it was like, not to want to have someone looking into your life.

He smiled at Hart’s statement, then nodded in agreement. “Thanks, Hart. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

Josef did notice the way his grin turned goofy. Of course he did. His brows rose, and his lips curved into a smile of his own as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Is that so? She sounds interesting. How long have you known her for?”

He liked how Hart looked when he talked about Sloane. Besides, it was good to know what he was getting into with his new student.

[Hart Kenney]

Hart grimaced in sympathy at Josef's proclamation regarding his sister. "Yeah. That's rough. Tiff can hold onto grievances, too." Case in point, her ongoing rivalry with her husband over who could acquire the most lovers. He waved a hand dismissively at the offer to put in a word with his sister. "I think I can survive without her good will, y'know?"

At the question regarding Sloane he chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "Uhhh, I moved here in June, soooo almost six months."

He realized that wasn't a terribly long time, but they did see one another nearly every day.

"She all the time is telling me to stop my space from spreading over to her desk. She doesn't appreciate disorganization. I tried to get her to hang out with me and Charlie over Labor Day but no cigar. I guess she's a little shy, but she's starting to warm up to me. We hang out on lunch break a lot."

The smell of burning made him curse again, jumping back from the grill with an undignified yelp.

"Aw, man, I just am failing today."

[Josef Muller]

He nodded. “I think it’s a sister thing.” Remembering every single one of her sibling’s faults, from little things like forgetting a card for a birthday or maybe using heels for a dare and having to superglue them back together, was one of Helene’s wonderful skills. But Josef didn’t take it personally anymore. What was the point? Helene would think what she would, and he’d just try to be there for her when she needed.

“Six months, huh?” His brows climbed, and he leaned forward and folded his arms on his knees as he watched Hart talk about Sloane. He might have been grinning. But when Hart looked back at him, his face was tugged into a properly casual expression.

His eyes might still have crinkled at the edges, though. Hey, a guy couldn’t help it sometimes.

He laughed outright as Hart jumped back, then shook his head. “Want me to give it a try?” he asked. “Or shall we call it a day and try for some burgers from fast food?”

[Hart Kenney]

"Definitely a sister thing." Hart agreed, although truthfully he couldn't blame her, she only behaved as she had been raised. He'd been in danger of falling into the same pattern, himself. College had seen her become more settled into the expected, while the freedom from immediate familial obligation had helped him sever ties. Sever them more than he would have liked, even, but he still had Jess.

"Six months." He confirmed. She'd made an impression in that time. "I don't think she was here much before me, the whole station practically cleared out not long before I moved and then it was like, oh, hey, transfers. That you can count on one finger. Kind of weird, but hey, not my business."

A mournful shake of his head declined Josef's offer to take a turn at the grill. "I can't believe I'm failing so hard today." He sighed regretfully. "I swear I know how to do this...." He scraped the second batch of patties off the grill before moving to the bench with a sigh. "If you really wanna try it, by all means, but at this rate you're probably right, we're gonna need to grab some Wendy's or something if we wanna actually eat today."

[Josef Muller]

Josef nodded and, noting the expression, decided that it was best to let this subject drop for now. He liked Hart. He didn’t want to cause him any unnecessary pain when it could be avoided.

Six months, huh? Yeah, that could explain the way Hart looked….well, the word he would have used was “smitten,” but he was the first to recognize that he did not have a way with words. So instead of saying anything of that sort, he nodded. “Huh. Wonder why. I can’t comment—I didn’t run into the police much when I was here before, so I wouldn’t know what lead to that.” Plus, he’d been gone for four years. No surprise there.

He laughed at his look, then shook his head and retrieved the unburned patties and hopped to his feet. “Nothing wrong with Wendy’s. I like their…ah, I know the name…the Frosty, I think? Anyways.” He waved his hand. “You did better than I would ever manage to. Let’s treat ourselves to some healthy fast food.” He smiled at him. “I’ll buy.”

[Hart Kenney]

Hart shook his head ruefully as Josef confessed his obliviousness. "Yeah, didn't think you would. I'm in the best position to know but I don't. It's kind of weird, if you think about it, but I guess it's not really my business or they'd tell me."

At least, he hoped that if it were his business he would be told, and that whatever reason there was or the entire police force retiring or transferring was entirely on the up and up. It seemed suspicious on the outside, but who was he to judge? He'd only just moved to Pilot Ridge himself, really.

"Yeah, the Frosty is pretty tasty." He agreed. That was what Wendy's was known for above their actual food, although he was partial to their burgers. "And hey, they have some healthy options." They had salads as sides, and they were pretty decent as far as fast food salads went. Not the best salads, but certainly not the worst.

He didn't argue when Josef offered to pay; no need to do anything other than accept the offer graciously, and then treat his roommate next time they went out. "Thanks. And next time I swear I won't burn our food."