Creepy-ish Old Mansion on Phoenix Way, Wednesday Late Morning

[newroutines]

"So let me get this straight... You're celebrating having electricity by cooking bacon and eggs on an indoor grill?"

Indeed Mike was! They had electricity and heat in the whole house, a guy was coming in tomorrow to check out the last of the pipes so they could finally maybe get running water soon, and as an added bonus, the nation hadn't elected an asshat for their president. So, the fact that all the appliances they had in the kitchen were out of use and practically antique and he was having to rely on a small propane grill and a cooler was not going to put a damper on Mike's spirit. "Damn right I'm celebrating, Brooke!" he told his friend, on speaker phone from Tampa while he worked on his gourmet meal. "Don't shit on my good times, Brooke. Things are actually going pretty good."

You know, not taking last weekend into account. Brooke sighed. "If only I could send you a stove."

"Well, you can't." they were going to have to go appliance shopping soon. "Just get me the rest of my stuff, babe, and we'll be fine."

[Ooopen to the housemate and/or random visits!]

Comments

[justlurkinghere]

"Bacon?" Yes, that was where Derek's attention was at. Food.

[newroutines]

"Rude," noted... Mike's phone on the counter.

"Derek, Brooke, Brooke, Derek," said Mike, unperturbed by introducing a phone to a man. Or Derek's lack of preamble or attention to anything but food. "And yes, bacon. You want some?"

[justlurkinghere]

Derek made a vague noise of acknowledgement toward the phone, nodding at the food. "You normally eat on the phone?" He asked dryly.

[newroutines]

Mike shook his head. "I'm not eating, I'm cooking on the phone. Cooking."

"And I gotta go, anyway," Brooke chimed in. "Paperwork doesn't do itself. I'll call you later with the shipping info."

"Laaater."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek just gave him an amused look, eyebrows all up and eyebrow-y. "Cooking. My bad."

[newroutines]

"There's a difference," he shrugged, reaching for a plate. "By the way, Brooke's gonna send all my shit up here sometime next week. Will be nice to have some furniture and stuff."

[justlurkinghere]

That got another shrug. Who needed furniture when you had crippling emotional trauma?

"Tell me when."

[newroutines]

Everyone needed furniture, Derek. Come on.

"Will do." The island was made of stairs, so he hadn't really been intending to lug it all here on his own, no. "We're gonna have to buy some new stuff too, probably."

[justlurkinghere]

He just needed his brooding!

"We?" If this ended in antiquing...

[newroutines]

Mike shrugged. "Hey, if you're planning on living here, then you're gonna chip in on furniture too. Just the way it goes, bro."

[justlurkinghere]

"I can pay." Oh, have a bigger chip on your shoulder, Derek.

[newroutines]

"Good, 'cause you're gonna." He got some more of that delicious bacon on his plate. Ignoring the grumpiness because really, when wasn't that present? "If nothing else, we could try to have an actual living room."

[justlurkinghere]

"I don't know," Derek drawled. "It has a charm to it now."

[newroutines]

"No, I think that's you confusing charming with creepy."

As usual.

[justlurkinghere]

That just got another shrug as Derek stole more bacon. "Survived the weekend."

[newroutines]

Mike could shrug too. "Everyone did, as far as I can tell. Weird though it may have been."

Sigh, random bickering prostitutes.

[justlurkinghere]

True story, Mike.

"Could have been worse." SOMEHOW.

[newroutines]

"Oh, easily." Well, for Mike. Hey, he hadn't actually had any customers or anything. "What did you even do? Or is merely asking going to get me glared at?"

[justlurkinghere]

Yes, there was a glare at that. But, really, that might have just been his face. "Tried to reinact the plot of Dusk."

[newroutines]

"... Seriously?"

Mike was only asking because he hadn't been on the island for that long. He was still allowed to be weirded out at more or less everything.

"Who with?"

[justlurkinghere]

That got him a glare that was thoroughly uncomfortable looking. "Stiles."

Ugh.

[newroutines]

What.

"Stiles. As in shaved head, talks a lot, about fifteen? That Stiles?"

Yes, Mike, that one.

[justlurkinghere]

"The kid, yes." Look more uncomfortable, Derek! Go on, do it!

[newroutines]

Mike's eyebrows were reaching for his hairline.

"Oh wow. That is... that is not right."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek's look implied that was the understatement of the freaking century. "Nothing happened."

Other than mauling his neck with all the hickies.

[newroutines]

"Well I should hope so." And not just because Stiles inspired approximately the same feeling in him as helpless puppies did. "Is he okay?"

[justlurkinghere]

Derek shrugged, head down as he focused on the bacon. Nice, totally non threatening bacon. "Nothing happened."

And he didn't want to discuss it. Because of reasons.

[newroutines]

Mike raised just the one eyebrow this time. "Okay, I'm willing to pretend that was reassuring."

[justlurkinghere]

"He's a kid. I'm not exactly thrilled that--" He made a face that could be considered a snarl. He moved his shoulders as though to shrug something off.

[newroutines]

"Okay, okay," Mike said, holding up a hand. "No need to get worked up. It wasn't you. Not any more than I'm a prostitute trying to get other hookers into business school."

[justlurkinghere]

"...what?" Successful topic shift!

[newroutines]

For the good of everyone involved!

"I spent all weekend down in the warehouse district, bickering with other male hookers."