THIS SHIT IS BANANAS.

Ace was covered in grease, she was doing CV axles and they weren’t always this messy but this one was particularly bad. She had tried to wipe as much of the grease off her when she went up to the front but the smears on her face as she looked at her brother and the wide eyed expression had her realizing she had forgot. “Shit. I’m sorry Josh. I completely forgot.” She said looking herself over. “Give me like two minutes and I’ll be ready, alright?” She nodded turning to go head to the bathroom to clean up as much as she could. She couldn’t really change her clothes but she could wash the grease off her face and hands.

“Sorry, you heard Birdie this morning she was not in the mood to go to daycare.” She shook her head, “I’m pretty sure you might have had something to do with it too.” Her brow raised teasingly at her little brother. “You’re probably trying to get her to talk us into taking her out so you can watch her all the time.” She smirked, “but for now, let’s just get something to eat. We can talk about how you’re spoiling my kid while we eat.”

He doesn’t blame Ace for forgetting about lunch. She’s got so much on her plate that he feels bad for even showing up. “No, it’s fine, Ace, you don’t have to-” But she’s gone to clean up now, and there’s nothing much he can do but to wait.

Once she’s ready, he leads her back to his car parked out front. “Well, I mean... I don’t blame her. I hated daycare, too.” He was a difficult child, though admittedly less difficult with Ace. The two shared a bond that was very much akin to his relationship with Birdie. It’s probably why he feels so close to her, because it reminded him of Ace and himself when they were younger. “You can’t blame me on that, either. Kid’s grown on me, what can I say?” he says before ducking his head to climb into his seat. 

He parks in front of McGarry’s Oakwood Cafe. It’s busy this time of day, but they’ve been going here for years that the second they step inside, Gloria, a waitress they’ve known since they were children, immediately takes them to a vacant booth that they wouldn’t have found on their own, what with all the movement inside. Once seated, Jox doesn’t even look at the menu when he orders a cheeseburger (with extra cheese), hash brown, a plate of fries, and an apple pie with a scoop of ice cream and maple syrup drizzled on top. He waits for Ace to place her order before bringing up what he’s been meaning to ask her all week.

“So, hey, um... I know I still owe you for one I got my strings replaced, but... I was wondering if I could borrow some money to go to New York this week?” He knows what it sounds like, and already, he continues before Ace could even react. “It’s- I promise it’s not- I’m just... a friend told me about a job I could look into in New York. It’d be at a studio and... if all goes well, I could work as a sound engineer for them. I just need enough to pay for gas and a meal and... I don’t know, I might stay for a night.”

“Helloooo? Anybody home?” Jox has been incessantly knocking against the Coles’ front door for a few minutes now while he tries to balance Birdie on one arm. Muscles straining, he carefully lowers his niece to her feet. “Okay, stay there, baby, Uncle Jox is just gonna check something out.” Slowly, he pries his hand away from Birdie’s and walks from the front porch towards the windows where he has to stand on his tippy toes just to get a look inside. He grins when he finally sees Gage and jogs back towards the door. “Hey, Missus!” he greets the brunette as he lifts Birdie up in his arms to carry her. “So, um... weird question, but do you happen to have some jello in there?”

He slides on the pair of red-tinted sunglasses and checks himself out on the mirror. Turning to Faye behind him, he waits for her to notice. “Justice is blind, and so am I.” He lets the glasses hang low on the bridge of his nose. “Matt Murdock. Daredevil.” He grins and faces the mirror once again. It’s not often he goes out shopping, and especially not as of late since he doesn’t really have an income, but he thought he could use some time out of the house an accompany Faye.

So maybe making out with a complete stranger in an alley in the back of a bar where anyone can find them isn’t his best idea, but he’s been in worse situations and had done things he’d have been less proud of. He’s carefully balancing a glass of beer he’d forgotten to leave behind as he’s pressed against the dingy wall, the guy’s face buried in his neck as he leaves a wet trail of kisses over his skin. Eyes fluttering closed, a small moan leaves his lips, but it’s not long after that he hears the door to the bar’s back entrance swing open, the sight of a very familiar face greeting him when he opens his eyes.

“Shit!” He pushes the guy off of him, the other’s beer spilling over the concrete. “Hey… Benny,” he says, giving his former dealer a small nod as he tries to stifle a laugh. His company clears his throat and tells Jox he’ll be waiting inside, using the service entrance where Benny had walked out from. Still leaning against the wall, Jox pulls out a cigarette from his pack and tries to light it, though the attempt proves difficult when he’s holding the glass at the same time. “Lend me your hand?” 

“Is it true that hamsters eat their own babies?” he begins just mere moments after the last topic of conversation had passed, unable to go for a second of silence between them. “’cause I was thinking of getting two and make them a cute little couple, but then I’m not sure I can handle waking up one day to find two of their five hamster babies missing.”

“What are you having?” he says, deliberately startling the older man as he slides into the seat opposite him. He smiles cheekily at Anders as he places the glass of beer carefully on the table like he owns the place. “You with someone?” He makes a show of turning towards where the restrooms were like he expects Anders’ company, if he has one, to emerge at that moment. 

He’s visited the auto shop enough times to know the employees by name and for them to greet him upon sight. He loves it, it makes him feel like a celebrity, but he’s only really here for one person. He walks up to the front desk and waits as one of Ace’s coworkers calls for her, saying that she’s got a visitor. His sister appears from the main garage a few moments later. “There she is! You ready to go?” he says, beaming at her. They have plans for lunch today, and while they see each other plenty enough back home, it’s been a while since they’d hung out, just the two of them.

“YO, LUZ! Check it!” He yells from the other side of the street as he skates over the sidewalk. “Fakie Bigspin!” He turns 180-degrees, his back to Luz now and attempts to flip his board from the concrete, over the curb, and onto the asphalt of the main road, but instead has the back end of his board caught on the edge of the gutter mid-turn, causing him to lose his balance and hit the ground quite unceremoniously. “Fuck!” is all he manages as he’s splayed all over the warm surface of the road, moaning in pain. “Luz... am I dead?”

☆★ [ richard madden + he / him + cismale ] ☆★ did you know that [ joshua hawkins ] has lived in erie for [ nineteen years ] now? the [ 28 ] year old [ musician / dj ] is known to be [ loyal ], yet [ immature ]. which is fitting considering they are a/an [ sagittarius ]. whenever they pass by on the street, i can hear [ say my name by zyra ] blasting through their headphones. they remind me of [ gummy candies, vintage videogames, glittery nail polish ], and it really wouldn’t be erie without them!

trigger warnings: drugs, overdose.