Always being cooped up in New York, it was always a treat to get to see his friends. In his heart, he felt he wasn’t much of a hero in comparison to them, but he was proud to serve alongside the likes of Starman or Doctor Mid-Nite. That was actually how he met the person he was meeting today: Sylvester Pemberton. Or just Syl, as Sylvester was far too long and formal. Ted’s protege.
The man sipped on a coffee. While it was bitter in comparison to the ice cream offered at the joint, he still drank it. The act was more out of habit than actual enjoyment, however.
Normally, he’d be worrying about the time, or if Syl got caught up in some nonsense, but he’d been trying to work harder on relaxing lately. Dian always said he was too high-strung for his own good. Too worried. Too focused on the little things.
Which made it funny that she was the one too busy today.
As the door’s attached bell rung to indicate a new customer, Wes subtly craned his neck to see who it was. Syl. Good timing. His own face lit up into a demure expression of happiness.
“Good day to you too,” Wes nodded. His briefcase, which was usually assumed to carry papers, was close by. Just in case he needed to get into action quickly.
“I’m doing fine as always. No new nightmares, which means nothing major. But how about you?”
Ah, the fact that Wes was happy to see him... Syl’s features softened in the same way his heart warmed with affection, and without delay he went to sit across from him.
“I’ve been-- y’know, good.” Both his shoulders shrugged up, his hands folding neatly over the tabletop. “Well... busy. But busy good, like. I’m running around doing my best headless chicken impression, but I’m not hating it, if that makes sense.”
Maybe it didn’t. Syl wasn’t going to overthink it.
“I mean, most recently I was stuck in some dimension of hell?” The way his voice pitched upward made it sound like he wasn’t entirely sure on that front, but mostly he was doing it to make it seem less scary than it had actually been. “But that was fixed. And the demon released everyone else who was stuck, and...”
Syl waved a hand. “Opal City’s full of more colourful people these days, I guess you could say.
“You look good, though, Wes.” He smiled. “The ‘no new nightmares’ thing shows! I think I have heavier bags under my eyes than you do for miles.”
