The bar that Javi had suggested for him and Solomon to go to get very celebratorily drunk at is a //little// nicer than the places he might usually suggest. It's still in his neighborhood, so it's nothing crazy, but the floor is quite a bit less sticky and all the lights work. He has gotten there with the intention of getting them a booth, which isn't //totally// necessary, but there are enough people here that it probably is easier. He's seated on the side facing the door and scrolling absently through his phone, but every time that door opens his eyes lift, so he must not be paying particular attention to whatever's on the screen.
Solomon strolls in a few minutes before the time they'd scheduled to meet. It's a weekend, so he's dressed down, in a worn t-shirt and nice jeans, with a small package tucked under one arm. He pauses just inside the doorway, scanning the place with wary eyes. Until his gaze lights on Javi; then his expression eases, and he moves towards the claimed booth with a grin. "Javi." He slides in across from him, putting his (gift-wrapped) package off to one side. "How's things?"
Since he's specifically looking, Javi sees Solomon come in right away, and as soon as he does he grins, too. Beams, really, as he closes his phone and slides it into his pocket, straightening up in his seat. "Hey!" The package isn't noticed until a few seconds later -- when he does, his eyebrows raise in brief surprise, though he can't exactly hide that he's very pleased by it.
"Doing great, man. Really good. How 'bout you? Looks like we had the same idea." He reaches down underneath the table to pull out a gift bag and set it on top instead. He's gone a little overboard with the tissue paper, maybe -- it may not be surprising that he's not the neatest wrapper of presents. But it does look festive.
Solomon's eyebrows go up. "But you're the one we're celebrating," he says, mildly. His own package is very neatly wrapped - the wrapping paper might be a little unconventional, though, seeing as how it's Halloween themed, with black background and grinning orange pumpkins. But he seems amenable to a trade and picks at the paper delicately while he smiles. "I'm doing well, I think. Things are always busy at the start of a semester. Remember, drinks on me, and I'll be pissed if you don't order the good stuff." His own gift, if it's opened, is a...plushie. It's a small, plush ambulance. It is very goofy, but also very, very squishy and soft.
"What, I can't get you a present?" Javi's eyes widen very innocently as he looks from the bag to the square package, then back, then up to Solomon. "You don't like presents?" He's managed not to laugh right up until the end, but when it slips out it's a very delighted one. And he's //definitely// going to open //his//.
"Right on," he confirms as he pulls the cutely spooky package toward him so he can begin to open it. "Top shelf only, got it." He grins again, an expression that shifts into one of those that doesn't seem to be able to fully be contained on his face when he sees what it is. It has him bouncing a time or two in his seat, like if he were standing, he might have been literally jumping for joy. "Oh shit!" he exclaims, holding it up to admire it. "How fucking cute is this?"
If Solomon opens //his// present, he will find a framed 8x10 print of a drawing that looks vaguely scientific, but vividly colored and done with extreme care. A few yellow and black caterpillars crawling on a twisting branch with vivid flowers, and two detailed moths in shades of red and gold. There is also a card, but Javi pauses just long enough to note, "You don't gotta read the card right now."
Solomon's whole face lights up when Javi holds up the ambulance. "I thought you might enjoy it. I was gonna get an EMT, but it turns out they don't have really standard uniforms? So I thought the ambulance would be better. It's very soft," he says, as if that is vitally important to know. And then he's opening his present, neatly putting the paper off to the side so he can stare at it. And stare he does. At first, his face is completely blank. But he gently reaches out and strokes the butterfly wings on the other side of the glass, and his whole manner radiates a quiet but intense sort of joy. "It's a Merian," he says, quietly. "I don't have any of her prints, but I've always greatly enjoyed her work. Thank you, Javi. This..." he goes silent for a moment, then finishes, "this is lovely. Thank you again."
"I love it," Javi says with a very firm nod. "Thank you, for real." And it //is// soft, which definitely could be vitally important, because he's already running a finger over the back of it. It at least seems to have the benefit of grounding him in his seat for the moment.
Of course, he also has to watch the other man open //his//. He tilts forward a little bit, mostly just with eager anticipation, though there may be a //hint// of nervousness, which isn't helped by the first blank look -- but as soon as Solomon's hand comes up, he relaxes again, and the grin is back. In fact, he's really looking very pleased with himself right now. "You're welcome," he says. "She seemed really fucking cool, I read about her a little bit. It's cool how like, everyone else back then I guess was tryna draw ones that were dead? But she didn't, she just like, looked at them when they were alive. Seemed like you'd like it."
Solomon sets the framed print carefully aside on the seat, tucked away where nothing is likely to knock it or break it. He checks it a couple of times, then nods. Turning back to Javi, his smile is warm and bright. "She was really fucking cool. An innovator of her time, and someone who really delved down into her passion. Both as a scientist and an artist." He sniffs. "You're too good at gift giving. It will be a trial in the future," he predicts, mock ominously. "Tell me about the mid-term. How'd you feel about it? Did you notice anything that particularly helped?"
"Yeah." Javi's gaze shifts to the print, moving over one of the caterpillars as his expression softens a little bit. However, the comment makes him look back to Solomon again with a laugh. "I'm pretty good at it," he concedes cheerfully. "Used to be like, when everything had to be like free or real cheap, you kinda gotta think hard about it, you know? So I got used to it." It's very obvious he likes his, though, since his hand hasn't left the little ambulance yet.
He does take a moment to consider the last question, but since it obviously went better than he was expecting, there's no edge to the silence. "It was kinda like, I didn't really know how it went 'cause I felt like it went good but I never did good on tests really? So I was kinda like, well it must've went bad and I just didn't know. But I recorded myself saying the shit I had the hardest time getting and then I'd listen to it on the L so I think that helped me a lot."
"You were a stressed out kid when you were last in school, Javi." Solomon says it gently. "The more stress you're under, the harder it is to concentrate and remember shit. You've got better strategies and more resources now. Keep it up, hmm?" Then he makes a short gesture towards a server. "And what do you want, man? It's a celebration, so I'm getting a double." There's another quick peek at the print, like he wants to make sure it didn't go anywhere. "Everything else okay? Nobody giving you a hard time?" Something about the way he stressed nobody makes it sound like he's particularly interested in the Weird Community.
Javi's gaze drops to the table briefly when Solomon points it out, but his smile doesn't fade. "Yeah," he admits, "guess you're right." The hand on the plush ambulance squeezes it a little bit more firmly, but also in a vaguely celebratory way, if that were possible. Apparently it is, and by the time he's ordering he's looking up again. "Lemme get a tequila sunrise," he says, lifting the empty hand to point at the server before he adds, amusement, "but with the good shit."
The question has him tapping a finger against the ambulance absently as his expression grows more thoughtful. "Mostly good," he confirms after a few moments. "I mean, I did get kinda freaked out when a couple of us were at the beach, though. It was like, me and Darwin, and then we ran into Maya and Fi so we were hanging out but then this guy came up and he was literally open carrying a fucking gun. Pretty sure he was, you know. A lost person? 'Cause they kinda got to talking about like a meeting thing that I guess they all had went to so I feel like he was, too. But yeah. It was weird." He lets out a //little// huff, admitting, "Pretty sure he lives in my building, too."
Orders are taken and then Solomon relaxes back, giving a pleased nod when Javi seems amused. His eyebrows go up. "Openly carrying a gun in the city? Must have connections. Or just be capable of dealing with people who give him shit." He grimaces. "Sorry. Some of us are...not all the way there." So much for delicacy. "Generally not in a dangerous way, not to random people. But still, it can be upsetting. If he gives you shit, let me know?" There's no promises there, and Sol's voice is light, but it still has the tone of a directive more than a request. And when their drinks arrive, he takes a healthy sip.
"Right? Like...damn." Javi's eyes widen a little bit again as he shakes his head. "It was kinda fucking crazy. Not like I never seen a gun before but usually it's not like //that//. Just right out there." He shakes his head quickly at Solomon's apology, though. "It makes sense," he admits. "I mean, he definitely didn't like, do anything to me. Just kinda caught me off guard, you know? He seemed okay other than that. But yeah. I'll let you know."
He reaches for his drink to pull it toward him, but he doesn't quite drink from it yet. "Went out with this guy the other day," he says. "Razi. And he was all like, about how I'm never gonna like understand him and stuff. Which like, it was //kinda// funny 'cause I feel like he definitely thinks he understands me." The amusement is still there, though it's tilted a little wryly now -- but certainly not like he's upset about it. "But I mean, he's not wrong that I don't, I guess."
Solomon snorts. "We're all mysteries to one another, Javi. And Razi is very, very sharp...in his areas of expertise." His eyes gleam. "But sometimes those aren't as wide as we think they are. Don't let him dick you around, and mind what I said. Those of us who practice heavy self control do so because we have _things that we needs to control_." His gaze bores into Javi for a moment.
And then it's gone; it's apparently as far as he's going to go into trying to interfering with his friends' love lives. He takes a drink. "As long as you're having fun."
"Right? That's what I said," Javi replies, gesturing toward Solomon for emphasis. "Like, I know I'm never gonna understand //that//, but I'm pretty sure he don't understand what people do when they're broke as shit." He doesn't seem to feel the need to explain those things to Solomon -- but maybe he assumes the other man //does// know, or at least has a better idea.
Instead, he lifts his glass to take a sip -- but before he can quite do it, he's caught for a second in that intense stare. He's not actually scared of Solomon anymore, but apparently that doesn't mean the man can't activate a little bit of his startle reflex. He stills, deer-in-the-headlights style, and though it doesn't last long it was certainly notable.
But he shakes it off a moment later, and then the grin is back. "So far," he says. "We'll see. Not like it's that serious. You going to their game night thing? I'mma bring a cake."
Solomon chuckles. "I...would be surprised if he did. It's not impossible, I suppose. I don't know much about his upbringing or anything." A careless shrug. "But you've got the right of it, I think. None of us truly understand anyone else without putting a lot of work into it. And even then, there's always something...unfathomable. It's what keeps the mystery," he adds, with a grin.
Is there a moment of pleasure in the way his gaze makes Javi freeze, despite their friendship? Yup. It doesn't seem to be something he consciously decides, it's just a spark of feeling. He takes a sip, and nods. Then shakes his head. Then nods again, although it's tentative. "It'll depend, I suppose. I'm not much one for board games and the like. But if it's a time that works, then I suppose..."
Javi, in turn, is used to Solomon, and so while he surely has to notice that moment of pleasure, judging by past interactions, it just makes him snort, and he shakes his head. He doesn't address it further. Instead, he gets a little more serious, watching Solomon more intensely in turn in the few moments before he answers his question.
"So was that whole thing 'cause you //really// aren't into board games?" he asks, lifting his hand to gesture a little vaguely at Solomon, as if that's going to make the meaning of 'that whole thing' clearer. But who knows, maybe it does! "Or is it 'cause you're feeling some kinda way about getting invited to things by people who like you 'cause maybe you don't usually? 'Cause if it's the first one I'll leave it alone, but if it's the second one then be ready to see me at your place before so I can drag you there. Feel like you'd fucking kill at Risk."
Solomon's spine stiffens and his eyes go half-lidded. "I assure you, Javier, that your chances of dragging me _anywhere_ to make me do _anything_ I do not choose to are very low." It's a quick, defensive snap. And in the next moment, Solomon winces, and shakes his head. "Sorry. Shouldn't have--" a huff of air. "I'm just not particularly good with people. And I don't particularly enjoy board games. I don't generally see the point in them. Maybe if we were betting money or something." A shrug. "I'd prefer to go out drinking or picking fights or listening to music. Something useful." His definition of 'useful' might be a bit unrefined. "I don't even know what Risk is," he mutters.
Javi is very quick to hold up his hands in surrender, a reflexive gesture in response to the harsher reply. But he's equally quick to accept the apology, and shake off any briefly unpleasant feelings. He smiles, reaching for his drink again and letting Solomon explain.
"Okay," he eventually says, nodding once. "I'm just saying, 'cause you know, sometimes I feel like I don't really belong with you all, too? And so I get weird about things and feel like, well, maybe I should like let you all do your thing and not be this like...I dunno." He shrugs, taking another sip before he goes on. "But you say you're not good with people like Razi says he's no fun." A beat; then, a //little// grudgingly, even if it's also amused, "Or like when I say I'm dumb." Yes, he can at least admit it, even if he's still not sold on it. "Maybe you're not good with everyone all the time but you got people who like you and wanna chill with you, too. That's all I'm saying. So no worries if you don't wanna come to this one, I get that, but you better not come at me with the same shit when I invite you to the graduation party I'm definitely throwing myself 'cause if you miss that I'mma cry, for real." //That// brings his grin back, and in full force.
Solomon snorts, and downs the rest of his drink. He casually gestures for another, and with a flick of his fingers offers to get a refill for Javi, too. "Hmm. At least you're making progress. And I wouldn't miss your graduation party for the fucking world, Javi. But as for game night?" A shrug. "I can't make any promises. We'll see how it goes. Think of it as me conserving my ability to be social without tearing someone's throat out to the important events." He grins, toothily.
"Okay. Fair." It seems to be a perfectly acceptable compromise, because Javi leaves it at that. Well, mostly. "Lucky I got this guy to help us out if you do that though, right?" He lifts the little plush ambulance to wiggle it next to his head, and even though Solomon's grin is not exactly as //cheery// as his, it doesn't phase him in the slightest. "So serious, though. //Javier//. Like how in all those movies and shit the moms would say their kids' whole names when they were pissed. 'Javier Gustavo Reyes Heredia, you can't drag me nowhere I don't wanna go.'" A laugh escapes him, and he shakes his head. "Kinda see how it could work, not gonna lie. My mom didn't really do that."
Solomon chuckles. "Mine wouldn't, either. I don't think she even liked my middle name. She'd name shame me on my first, though." He clears his throat and tries a falsetto - it's very, very, very bad. "Solomon! I named you after the wisest man in the whole Good Book outside of Jesus his very own self. Why you gotta be acting like a fool?" He snickers. "And then she'd usually start chucking shit at my head until I got out of her sight." He peers at Javi. "Is that your full name? You should be careful handing it out."
Javi can't help but laugh again -- and this one is quite a bit louder than the other, enough that it draws a couple of curious looks. "Damn," he says, "that's cold. Was she wrong, though?" He briefly ducks away, pulling the ambulance in front of his face like the world's worst shield, even if he's pretty quick to straighten up again at the caution. "You gonna put a curse on me?" he asks. "'Cause I like bugs now so if you send 'em into my apartment they're just gonna be living with me being my friends and I'mma have 'em singing like I'm fucking Cinderella, except a weird dude."
His smile does fade a little bit, though -- it doesn't disappear, but it's smaller. More thoughtful. "Figured that was a thing, though," he continues. "I mean, even like regularly I don't really give it out. You know? There's crazy people out there." Indeed. "But I kinda wondered if the whole fairy tale shit about names having power was true and it felt like maybe it was. But I trust you."
"Hey, fuck you," Solomon says, without any heat and with much amusement. Then, after a pause, "Of course it was true. But what teenaged boy isn't a damn fool at times?" He grins, then waves his hand dismissively. "A curse is too much work. Besides, you'd clearly make the bugs all soft and lazy. Spoil them with your Disney shit." His smile is warm. "Yeah. Sometimes, anyway. It's not--there's not a universal thing? But some things out there can take your true name and fuck with you. Not necessarily fae things, either. So just be careful."
"Hm, yeah." Javi can't argue with //that//, even though it seems to amuse him, too. "Think it's, like...required." There's a brief pause, and his gaze shifts as it sometimes does to that place in the air before he snorts. "Shut up, cabrón. Yes you were." He will not be taking ghostly lies lying down, even if his tone is very fond.
He reaches for his glass with his empty hand, starting to tap a finger against it absently as he considers what Solomon has said. "Makes sense," he eventually replies. And then: "Is there a lot of shit like that? Like...stories that are kinda true? Ghosts are a little bit, too, but not everything. So it's like, you can't count on it, right? You gotta be able to know what's true and not. But I guess all those stories came from somewhere."
There's that quick twitch of startlement that says that Solomon, for a moment, forgot that Javi had a spectral traveler. His eyes flick towards that direction, and he laughs. "_Every_ teenage boy - or girl - was a goddamn fool at some point," he agrees, cheerfully. "It comes with the territory. And...yeah, I think so. The world is full of wonders, and all this shit is, y'know, keyed into experiences and emotion and the movement of forces we can barely even perceive, much less hope to comprehend. There might be an underlying order to it all, but if it is, it's buried deep."
Javi can't help it -- there's a //little// enjoyment when he's managed to startle Solomon, instead of the other way around, even if he didn't mean to do it. The quality of it might be different, but it's still present, if brief. When it fades, he's still watching Solomon, and there's another thoughtful shift as his head tilts to one side, his attention pulling in to focus more intensely as it sometimes does. There's something on his mind, but whether it's //actually//what he says next, or something else entirely, is not clear.
"Okay." He leans forward, one hand still on the ambulance, the other coming to rest against the table. "So. If you could have one thing from fairy tales or shit like that that //was// real. Like, if you could pick it. Could be literally anything, like a mythical creature or a magic spell or like...I dunno. Whatever. What would you pick?"
Solomon can't help but pick up on that enjoyment. His eyes narrow a little and he gives an indignant huff, before taking a big swallow of his drink. He can see Javi's contemplating something - but what comes out doesn't seem to be anything like he was expecting. His eyebrows go up and he hesitates. "Huh." He glances down at his whisky, as if he might find the answer there. "That's a hard one. I suppose--angels. Just about everything supernatural is a nightmare in one way or another. I'd like there to be some kind of fucking parity, you know? Like there _were_ creatures of pure good and light who punish the wicked and protect the innocent."
Whether that was what Javi was thinking about or not, it's what he's sticking with right now. He sits back, reaching for his drink to sip it as he studies Solomon through the other man's consideration of the question. He doesn't rush him through it, but he //does// watch his face as he thinks about it. It's not a pointed look, though, even if his focus is still a little more intense than usual.
"That's cool," he finally pronounces, once the other man has replied. "I like that." As if Solomon needed his seal of approval -- he surely did not, but he's getting it anyway. His gaze shifts away again, settling on the toy as his smile tilts a little crookedly. "Nice to think about something watching out for you."
"Yeah. It'd be nice," Solomon says, his voice soft. Then he grins. "But I suppose I'm sort of relieved that there's not, too. Because if you think there's something out there like that, then you start asking yourself why so many good people are treated like shit. And that doesn't go anywhere good." He startles. "And what the fuck are we doing, talking about heavy things when this is a celebration?" He picks up one of the little drink napkins, balls it up, and tosses it at Javi's face.
"Hm. Yeah." //That// is also true -- and Javi starts to say something in reply, but before he can he's getting things THROWN at him. He lets out a little outraged sound as he ducks away, but he only manages to make it glance off his ear instead.
"You're so annoying," he remarks, letting out a //very// put-upon sigh that might have landed better if it hadn't been laced with plenty of fondness, too. But, in the spirit of celebrating, he leaves the serious talk behind for the moment and instead leans forward again, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands. As well as he can, anyway, since he still hasn't let go of his present. "Heard you kicked Darwin's ass racing him the other day. Good, 'cause he's a fucking cheater." The amusement is back now, though.
And now Solomon is just laughing in unrestrained delight; it started when Javi ducked away and called him _annoying_, but it hits a new caliber when he mentions Darwin. "I'm surprised he would even admit that. Nobody would have found out if he'd just kept his mouth shut. But yeah. I smoked him. I'm pretty fast when I wanna be." He laughs again. "What did he cheat at? You need me to kick his ass for you?" His eyes gleam.
"Man, everyone wants to admit stuff to me," Javi counters, very reasonably. "Look at this face." He lifts his empty hand in a semi-frame, glancing off to the side so Solomon can judge for himself. He's mostly joking -- but there's probably a little grain of truth in it.
However, when he goes on, he shakes his head. "Nah. But //he// tried to race //us// when we were hanging out the other day 'cept he didn't wait for anyone to be ready, just took off. But he still only barely beat me." That might be a little point of pride. "Got him back, though. Dropped him in the lake. So I'm good." He settles back again, continuing, "He's a good guy, though. I like him. Always hyping his friends up, you know? Like just super into what they got going on for them. Feel like that's really good for a high school teacher. You kinda got that going on too except it's not exactly the same. Like, high school fucking sucks and none of 'em know what they're doing so if you're gonna teach 'em you gotta have kind of a sweet part. You know? Feel like college kids are a little, like...sturdier, maybe."
"You dropped him in the lake? Into lake Michigan?" Solomon barks laughter. "Good think he heals fast. Good job, Javi." He raises his glass in a salute to the other man. Although when Javi continues, he glances away. "He's fine. I suppose. He's not a menace, at the very least." It's reluctantly conceded, although when Javi finishes up, he slants a look back at him and says, in the voice of a man who has certainly never made a freshman burst into fearful tears, "Oh, certainly. They're a lot sturdier."
"Mm hmm." Javi takes that salute as his due, bowing his head and spreading his hand out to one side with a flourish. But when his head comes up, Solomon is suddenly looking away, and something in what the other man says about it makes him squint. His brows pull together, head tilting as he turns that focused regard back onto his companion -- and this time the smile is a //little// pointed. Slightly. "Oh, you suppose he's fine," he echoes. "Okay, sure. Good to know." He lifts his glass again to take a sip, though his gaze doesn't leave Solomon as he does it. "You should go see one of his plays sometime," he suggests nonchalantly once he's swallowed. "They're actually really good."
Solomon thinks about that suggestion. His smile, when it comes, is more than a little evil. "Oh, that sounds fun. Where are they, usually? Any after dark?" His eyes widen, in the worst feigned innocence that has ever existed anywhere. "Are they at the school? He's always so _delighted_ when I show up at his school."
Javi blinks, his head pulling back at that faux innocent look that follows right after the //evil// smile. He's silent for a few seconds, as if he can't quite decide what to do -- until suddenly, he laughs. It //is// amused, but it's also pretty delighted.
"Oh, where is it, huh? I mean, you could probably look it up," he replies, instead of actually, you know, //answering//. "Except I know you and Google don't really get along." He's teasing him now, though it's very good-natured. "And you ain't fooling //nobody// with that shit, compa. I see you. Fucking grown-ass man over here acting like a kid pulling pigtails on the playground."
"Oh, fuck you. I can use Google," Solomon insists, glowering. He reaches for another napkin. Duck - missile incoming! "I have a fucking Ph.D. I use the internet all the time." And he hates every moment of it. He scowls. "And what? He's fun to spook. Sort of like you were before you got all cynical and wise to my ways and shit."
"Yo, if they kick us outta here it's gonna be your fault!" But this time, Javi grabs the napkin after it hits his chest and throws it back. So really, if they get kicked out it'll be //both// their faults. "//And//," he continues, drawing out the word as if he's truly answering the other man's question, "we both know it ain't like that." He's still teasing, though it softens very slightly when he allows, "You did toughen me up a little bit, though, so thank you. I mean, maybe you knocked a couple years off my life too, but whatever. Not gonna worry about that right now."
Solomon gets that return volley right in the face; maybe he didn't expect Javi to have the AUDACITY to fight back. He grabs it on the rebound, but maybe Javi's warning penetrates, because he just feigns throwing it back, before putting it on the table. "You're okay," he says, with a flick of his fingers. "A bit of adrenaline is good for the nerves. I've got a doctorate. I know these things." He downs the rest of his second double and makes a contented sigh. Another sidelong look at the print and its card, which he is being GOOD and not reading until he's HOME.
"Oh yeah? You read that on the Google?" Javi's gotten pretty bold now that Solomon is apparently not throwing napkins anymore, but everything is softened by the fondness running through even the most pointed of his statements. Of course, he's never particularly hard anyway, but still.
When he speaks again, though, it's a little quieter. "Been a minute since I been like...good. Feels weird. Like, I'm always kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know what I mean?"
"Oh, you shut up, you cheeky bastard," Solomon mutters, but he's laughing at the same time. And no more napkins are thrown. It takes him a moment to follow the shift - that may be thanks to the two double whiskeys, admittedly. But when he does, he makes a thoughtful noise. "Javi. Getting out of the shit feels like that. You get so used to carrying that weight, pushing back against what's trying to crush you, that when it goes away, it can feel like something's _missing_. And it's gonna come back at any moment." He rattles the remnants of ice in his glass, but doesn't ask for a refill. "Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. Either way, you oughta spend your time enjoying the chance to breathe."
"You love me, though." Javi grins, lifting the little ambulance again and holding it beside his head like he's posing for a photo. For all that he does have his own brushes with self-doubt, some things in life are certain.
He reaches for his glass to finish it off, too, but he also seems to be good, and doesn't suggest another round. He lets out a longer breath, not //quite// a laugh, but almost. "Yeah," he murmurs, "like that." His eyes lift briefly to empty air, but it's a quick look this time, and he doesn't say anything more to any invisible presences. "You're right, though. Doing good now. People buying me drinks and cute best friend shit." Just like that, the grin is back, and he reaches across the table to push the front of the ambulance into Solomon's shoulder.
Solomon rolls his eyes at the accusation of love, but he doesn't deny it. He just makes some manly grunting noises and acts like there's something left in the glass to drink. There isn't, but he makes the motion anyway. "You deserve a celebration," he says, gruff, once he's given up the pretense and put the glass back down. "You're a hard worker, and you're a survivor." There's an amused noise as the ambulance is pushed into his shoulder. "And you'll make a great EMT, although they clearly should not let you drive. Crashing ambulances into people."
Javi shrugs as he settles back, glancing down again, but he's undeniably pleased with the reaction, and the words, even if he only actually replies to the end. "Hey," he counters, "least I got all the stuff in the back to help 'em out, right?" It's really very convenient. "Now all I gotta do is pass the final." He pauses, before he admits, "And then, like, get a job. But that part's easy with your fancy resume. Just gotta add this on and boom. Plus they kinda hook you up sometimes at the hospital I guess if you do a good job. Then I'll be buying //you// fancy drinks."
"The final's just like the mid-term, in terms of cognitive load. Especially if you don't slack off," Solomon says. "We'll do some weekly review sessions, to make sure you're not losing the previous material. It usually builds on itself, so you'll keep reinforcing yourself as you learn new material." Solomon sounds like he already has an _agenda_ in mind. "And Javi, you've got the skills. You'll get the knowledge. And you'll get a job." He smiles. "And then you'll buy me a smoked old fashioned from that fancy speakeasy place."
The mention of weekly review sessions with Solomon might have Javi's eyes widening //slightly// -- but he's not a college freshman. So he probably won't be crying more than once or twice, right? //Surely// not. "Sounds good," he says. "I'll bring my flash cards." He'll probably be framing those after the class is over, honestly.
He settles back, looking around for the server before he lifts a hand to flag them down. "Let me get one more," he says once they come over, and he shoots another wide grin across the table at Solomon. "Gotta enjoy my chance to breathe."
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