cowboy kink strong since '18

“Dope.” Behrad held up the bong higher. “Wanna a hit?” 

“Nah. I don’t need to be crossfaded right now.” She joined him on the couch. “Where’s Gus?” 

“Oh, his growing pains were serious. We had to chase him off the ship. So much for my uncle era.” He set it down, stretching out. “Seems the Fountain wasn’t the only thing you guys were drinking from.” 

Spooner grinned. “We were partying with some Spanish Civil War revolutionaries. Met El Gato,” she told him. “You jealous?”

“A little. I just got Gusarax fur in my hair. Took me forever to get it out.” Behrad turned to her sheepishly. “Sorry about the shower drain in advance.” 

She slumped back against the couch. “Greaaat.” 

He pulled a basket out from under the couch. “But, I raided Zari’s bathroom for her self-care goodies.” 

Spooner wrinkled her nose at the basket. The flashy packaging was intimidating. Even if the snail mucus sheet mask was intriguing for how gross it sounded. “She’s gonna kill you when she sees she’s missing her luxury beauty products.” 

“No, she won’t. My girl G will hook me up with everything I use to replace it. Right, Gideon?” 

“I’ve been keeping inventory of everything Mr. Tarazi uses tonight,” Gideon chimed in. 

She shook her head. “Nah, I’m not gonna be complicit in your co-conspiring.” 

“Fine. More things for me.” But he set the basket down. “We never chill like this.” 

Spooner thought it must have been the weed talking that made Behrad think of hanging out with her. She laughed at the thought. “Because we have nothing in common, B.” 

He fell back into the couch cushions. “So? Do any of us?” 

Okay, maybe he had a point there. 

“Besides, with my Zari gone and Nate occupied with the other Z…” Behrad trailed off. She couldn’t tell if he was purposefully trying to guilt her or not. Before she could make it out, he switched topics. “We’ve got leftovers from dinner too.”

“Okay. I guess I can hang.” Spooner started to untie her boots. “You can’t make me watch your stoner comedies, though.” 

He bolted up, surprisingly quick for someone probably stoned out of his mind. “Alright, deal. I’ll be right back.” 

She took off her shoes and set her feet on the coffee table. The booze and exhaustion was definitely getting to her now. All she could hope was that things turned out well for Fernando. She knew far too well how he felt, surprise telepathy aside. Maybe it was because he’d drank from the Fountain that she could connect with him - alien powers to alien magic. 

If she thought about it too much, she’d give herself a headache. 

Instead, Spooner glanced around Behrad’s part of the lab. She’d invaded it her first week here, disregarding his stoner cave set-up. It wasn’t the tidiest, but it was… well, eccentric. 

She pushed herself up off the couch to amble over to the desk. Beside the old landline phone that must have been an antique in his time, there was some kind of mechanism. Her own tinkering was concerned with ballistics, but this was more intricate. Some kind of watch? 

Before she could investigate further, the lab doors opened through the glass window. Spooner stepped away, but not fast enough. 

Behrad came in with a plate and a bag of cheese puffs. “Some tortilla espanola.” He set it on the coffee table. “You peering over at my work?” 

“I thought all you did was get high and play video games,” she said, going to grab the leftovers. 

He shrugged. “I do other stuff, too. Gid and I have been working up a watch that automatically adjusts to whatever time period you’re in - it’s a work in progress. I kinda dissembled a Time Courier and tried hooking it up to an old-school timepiece. Just - looks cooler like that.” 

She came back over to take another look at the contraption. “Huh.” 

“I’m not - really an inventor.” He started back towards the couch. “It’s just a hobby.” 

“Yeah, sure, just a hobby to get a device to adjust to changes in the timeline,” Spooner muttered, then snorted as she sat back down. “No wonder you quit business school. Must’ve been bored out of your mind.” 

“Extremely,” Behrad agreed. “The Legends didn’t really have to ask me to come with them. I kinda begged them.” 

“Which is why you thought strolling in to take me was such a bright idea?” she asked. 

“Well. I figured you might be a little more cooperative.” He tore open the bag. “You got a favorite movie?” 

“Uh…” Spooner had to think. She didn’t really watch movies. Back at her compound, she’d kept books upon books. But there were a few from her teen years that she remembered seeing, finding that the cult horror movie showings a few towns away were a great escape from the dicks in her hometown. “How about The Fly?” 

Behrad made a face of disgust that was so much like his sister’s it was eerie. “You’re gonna give me nightmares, Spoon.” 

“Fine. What’s your pick?” She took the plate, then held up a hand. “No stupid ass stoner comedies.” 

“I wasn’t going to suggest any,” he said, resting his foot against the table as he leaned back. “How about Labyrinth? Did you know David Bowie wrote a song about Sara?”

“Why not?” Spooner dug into dinner. It wasn’t the greasy meal she’d be craving after a night of heavy drinking, but damn, it was good. “You guys met David Bowie?” 

“Gid?” Behrad looked up at the ceiling. The TV switched from the ship’s metrics screen to the movie. He turned to Spooner and explained, “The first time we were in the 70s, he was at the Hole. Nate and I hung out with him for a bit. You know, before we knew Sara was missing.”

“Huh.” She had to figure meeting David Bowie was hell of a reason to not notice their captain was MIA. “Crazy.” Really, that was low on the Legends’ crazy-scale. But she’d somehow become accustomed to it all. 

She glanced back at Behrad, munching on cheese puffs with his eyes glued to the screen. The solitude of her West Texas compound was a self-inflicted exile that had been far better than being seen as a freak. Here, though, being a weirdo was kind of a requirement. So far, it had been a confusing ride through time. But this was a nice, semi-normal way to end the night. Spooner would take those semi-normal moments when she could get them.