#jerislim

Muffled sounds of music echoed through the city of lights. Even with the moon full and bright above the sky, it appeared as if the city never slept with beacons of coloured lights piercing throughout the darkness. Outside the club was no different, citizens walked tall carrying sparklers and blasting music of various genres in the streets. For trying to stay undercover, Ryatt sure picked the worst place to go.

No one else appeared to mind, walking into the crowded club with eager eyes, more-so Jericho and Ryatt as their eyes sparkled taking in the spectacle of flashing lights. Ramsey's smile widened ever so slightly, perhaps getting into the groove of the current remix and walking straight towards the bar. Dixon had been more skeptical about the idea, much like Slim, standing in place near the entrance as everyone else ventured closer to the dance floor.

Upon reaching the edge of the dance floor, Jericho turned back once. His eyes wandered in search of his companion after not finding him beside himself. Looking towards the entrance, his smile returned and he skated back to Slim's side, “you coming, Slim?”

Slim looked up, adjusting his cap slightly to meet Jericho's anticipating gaze. A heavy weight sunk into his chest, intensifying with every beat of the music that wormed through his only good ear.

“I'm going out for a smoke.” he quickly turned back, pushing the entrance door open before Jericho could protest. Keeping his head low and turning a few corners, Slim found an empty alleyway where the lights of the city failed to illuminate.

Slim was satisfied with the dark location, taking out a cigarette pack from his pocket before eyeing a ladder leading to the roof of the building. He thought about the potential view, already walking in the direction of the ladder, before halting. Using whatever willpower necessary, he pulled Alcatraz out from the ground. His ghostly helm peered out at the sky turning in various directions to take in as much of the lights above as he could. Alcatraz was about to float higher into the sky before Slim forcefully pulled him back down.

“Ouch, Slim! You’re not going to let me see what else is in this city?” Alcatraz turned to face Slim, tilting his helmet down slightly.

Slim scoffed, wondering why Alcatraz would even bother asking such a stupid question. He didn’t want to give him an actual answer, but he didn’t want Alcatraz to bother him either. Turning towards the building beside them, Slim could tell the music blaring from inside was the same as that of the club.

“You can hang out in here with your “buddies” and leave me alone, alright?” Slim told more than asked, but Alcatraz was far more excited to have this moment of freedom to mind the harsh tone. With Alcatraz floating through the wall, Slim made his way up the ladder and onto the roof of the club.

The brilliant lights were far more beautiful than slim could outwardly admit. The breeze was fairly pleasant as well, a much needed change from the heat radiating off of the many people who roamed the streets in large crowds.

Slim was quick to retrieve his lighter from his other pocket, eyeing the small flame it produced from a single flick. The green of the lighter was barely visible from the light, yet Slim could still remember the day his cellmate produced it out of thin air during their time in jail. Jericho's tight expression as he concentrated on “sequence breaking,” which was what he called it, the lighter was clear in Slim's mind even a year later. His grip on the lighter tightened slightly as he brought it up to the end of his cigarette. Staring at the spectacular sights of the city, Slim allowed his mind to wander as the heavy beats of the music thumped beneath his feet.

“Hey Slim! Enjoying the view?”

Slim took in another breath of his cigarette before turning his head slightly. He smiled to himself knowing Jericho couldn’t see it from behind his back.

“Not so much now,” Slim replied, his cigarette still between his teeth, “my peace is disturbed.” He leaned forward on the roof’s edge divider, his arms still crossed over the top of it as he looked at the streets below.

“Oh,” Jericho's tone was the opposite of Slim's, “sorry about that.” His voice grew uncharacteristically quiet, making Slim turn around to face Jericho from the edge of the roof. Taking the cigarette from his mouth he responded,

“I'm kidding, Jer,” the nickname made Jericho perk up. Slim's smile widened a little. Crushing the butt of his cigarette beneath his foot was Slim’s way of telling Jericho that he was free to join him, an act that Jericho was always quick to follow up on by skating directly to Slim's side. The pair turned towards the city, Jericho expressing his awe with a short ‘wow.’ Although many of the lights from before had shut off from the time that’s passed, there were still many from other clubs and parties that were still raring with life.

Slim leaned back onto the divider feeling the breeze grow noticeably stronger. He brought a hand up to his black cap, holding the leather bill to keep it from flying off. Jericho stood with a single hand on the roof’s edge, unfazed by the wind as always. His smile only grew as he felt the fresh air brush through the strands of his hair, much of the vaseline was gone from how much he’d been dancing inside.

Taking his neon green shutter shades off his head, Jericho ran his fingers through his hair before looking back down at slim. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring. Slim's eyes wandered off towards the city again, forcing a cough to ease himself of his tension.

“Al is having fun!” Jericho placed his shutter shades back onto his head, the neon green vibrating slightly much like the accents in Jericho's outfit. He could tell Slim was close to replying with a snarky comment about how Alcatraz shouldn’t be allowed to have fun. Slim's mouth opened with his expression growing tight, but there was no response. He promptly closed his mouth and went back to staring at the lights with an unreadable expression.

“We’re having fun too,” Jericho started again, this time a bit softer, “you should join us.” His smile held anticipation in hopes that Slim would notice much like he notices Alcatraz’s changes in “expression.” Slim took one quick look at him, but it never came. It was as if he actively avoided the mere suggestion of having typical fun, yet he still decided to come out rather than stay holed up in the abandoned house they found a month prior.

“I'm fine,” Slim was quick to reply, tacking on a “thanks” before turning away from Jericho. Both were at a loss of words, an inability to keep the conversation moving in contrast to the beams of light that continued illuminating the sky. Slim was alright with the silence; Jericho was not.

In a swift act, Jericho began attempting to sequence break an object into his hand. Slim could see Jericho's hand lift out of the corner of his eye, his neon wristband shaking vigorously the more he tried to concentrate. Slim was about to speak up before a pair of neon pink shutter shades appeared in Jericho's hand. The pair turned to each other, the taller man smiling widely as a bead of sweat dripped from his face.

“If I can’t get you to come with us, perhaps I can bring the party to you!” he placed the shades on the crown of Slim's cap. Slim tried eyeing the shades, meeting the inside of the cap’s bill instead.

“It would be nice if I could see them.” Still holding the leather bill, Slim removed his cap from his head to see where Jericho had placed the shades. Their neon colour matched perfectly with his long tie and suspenders. He smiled to himself briefly. Jericho matched his expression before watching Slim comb his fingers through his hair and placing the cap back on his head. “They look nice,” it sounded more like a question, but Jericho could tell he was trying, “thank you.”

“It's not like you would even wear them, I think they serve better on your cap.” Jericho laughed over the muffled music from below. Slim’s brows furrowed,

“You don’t know whether I’d wear them or not.” They both knew he wouldn’t. Still, Jericho replied with a sarcastic ‘right,’ stretching out the vowel for a couple beats longer. They smiled at one another before falling into a more comfortable silence compared to before. The moment didn’t last long however,

“I appreciate you coming up here, Jer.” For once, Slim was the first to break the silence between the two men. Jericho was noticeably caught off guard, nearly slipping on a skate if it weren’t for the heel stop. He took a moment to respond, an act uncharacteristic of him once more,

“It's no problem, Slim! We are friends after all!” He smiled widely at his shorter companion. Unnoticed by Jericho, Slim grew tense the longer he eyed Jericho, opting to turn back to the city to relieve his nerves. It hardly did anything to help. He couldn’t comprehend the tight feeling in his chest no matter how hard he thought about it.

Slim took another look at Jericho whose smile faltered slightly in the silence; it paralleled the one burned into his memory. He couldn’t admit to himself that they were the same, only that they frightened him.

“I mean it, Jericho,” he breathed out. Slim cursed inwardly at the shakiness in his voice but Jericho seemingly didn’t notice; or he pretended to not notice. Either way, Slim continued, “I appreciate you sticking around. and I-“ he paused briefly, “-suppose I don’t mind your presence.” He tilted the bill of his cap down to obscure his eyesight from Jericho.

Jericho expressed his gratitude with a hearty laugh. The sound caused Slim's stomach to flip, his chest swelling with an unknown feeling. “Thanks, Slim! I feel the same way about you when you’re not threatening people and all," Jericho raised a hand to place it over his chest. In doing so, he allowed himself to roll forward towards Slim, being pushed slightly closer than anticipated thanks to the wind. He stopped himself before he could bump into Slim, the latter making no effort to move from his leaning position on the divider.

Slim adjusted his cap to meet Jericho's eyes again. Seeing the latter’s eyes full of emotion, Slim could only reply with a soft ‘right.’ The response was so quick however, Jericho was half certain it had been the wind, but the gaze Slim gave him made him think otherwise.

“Well, if you ever need someone to be threatened or taken care of,” Slim half-laughed out that second part, “I’ll be here to do just that for you.” Those last two words were nearly inaudible as Slim was quick to turn away from Jericho and back towards the city, the wind doing most of the work to obscure his voice. Jericho's smile melted further despite the implications of that first part of the sentence.

His eyes wandered towards Slim’s free hand dangling beside him. He hesitated, an act unlike him as he felt a tightening in his chest. At first he feared the worst: being too close to slim made the cigarette smoke negatively impact his lungs. Quickly brushing away the thought, he couldn’t find the right answer to his sudden symptoms, not yet at least. Quietly sucking in his breath, Jericho reached down and took Slim's hand into his own.

Slim had the initial instinct to reel back his arm and push away from the physical contact. However, the expression littered with many emotions he saw in Jericho's eyes coupled with the warmth provided from his shaking hand caused him to stay still. It was then that Jericho could feel the tension between the two, growing more anxious the longer he held Slim's hand.

Peering down at their intertwined fingers, Slim tightened his grip against Jericho's sweating palm. Covering his eyes once more, he spoke against the wind, “I'll be here until the end for you, Jericho. I promise.”