Beach BBQ [Open]

[asharpertongue]

Levi's idea for a beach party had been a good one. After the past few weeks they both needed to blow off a little steam and Lara had taken to the idea like the proverbial siren to water, inviting all her employees and friends. Levi had put the word out at the police station and among his closer friends so between them a decent crowd was forming.

The tables lining the beach were piled high with food and drink, a DJ was already in full swing and people were drifting over to the large bonfire for warmth as the chill started to cut through the summer evening. A few of the Heart of Gold employees had brought their kids along for the festivities and a friend of Lara's was performing little glamours and tricks to keep them entertained. Large clusters of huge pillows were dotted about the beach just a little way from Levi's house and lanterns and firelight bathed the whole area in a warm glow.

Maybe Lara had taken it a little far but she liked to treat her friends and everyone could use a little R&R.

OOC: Levi and Lara's friends have been officially invited, but everyone else feel free to wander in at your leisure~.

Comments

[doublethepain]

Spencer follows him, quietly eager to see Levi's collection because he doesn't know anyone else in Siren Cove who seems to share his interest in comics. Then again, he doesn't talk to all that many people in town in the first place, so he supposes he can't really know that's true. Things are slowly changing, though, and a small smile plays at the corners of Spencer's lips as they cross through Levi's living room. Two months ago, he wouldn't be doing this. He doubts he'd even be at this party. It's both amazing and a bit terrifying that so much in his life is different, and he knows who he owes for it.

He's still a bit lost in his thoughts when they enter Levi's library and it takes a moment before Spencer's jaw drops with just how many comics seem to be in the room. He takes a few steps further, slowly turning in a circle as his smile widens. It's a bit reminiscent of his own library, though he regretfully hasn't stepped foot in it since the incident with Mark, and he's stunned by the sudden tightness in his chest that he feels because he misses it. He misses sitting on the second level of his library, legs dangling off the edge as he skims through one of his favorites, but the idea that Levi might be the type who'd do the same makes Spencer feel a whole new wave of admiration for the other man.

"It's incredible," he says sincerely, nodding as if it emphasizes the point. He wanders over to one of the cabinets, peering at the titles as he walks along the line of the wall before glancing over his shoulder at Levi with a teasing grin. "If I'd known you were this much of a nerd, I'd have demanded your friendship years ago."

[tarnishedbadge]

"Thank you for saying that it's incredible and not pathetic or slightly obsessive," Levi said with a laugh. He was pleased that Spencer was impressed though, glad that he could share it with someone that really seemed to enjoy and understand where his obsession might come from. Of course, it also put his current job in a different perspect as well.

"Well, for most of Junior High and High School I just tried to be invisible," Levi admitted, although he hadn't really minded it, he preferred the solitude. "But I didn't start collecting seriously until I had a place to keep them. There's only so many you can hide in your room before they're discovered."

[doublethepain]

"You should see my library," he deadpans with a shake of his head. "Every single edition there is to find of The Velveteen Rabbit, not to mention all sorts of variations on the stuffed animal in the attic." Gaining all of that had been mostly his mother's doing, but it's not as if Spencer had made any attempts to stop her. It's the first story he remembers being read as a child by his father and has held a special place in his heart all these years. He smiles fondly, if not a little sadly, but shrugs it off as he focuses his attention back on the comics.

"I understand what that's like," he says, turning to face Levi and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Trying to be invisible, I mean. I'd done a pretty good job of it, too, until... Well, you know all about it." He lifts a shoulder into a shrug then nods toward the shelves behind Levi. "Which ones are your most prized?" It's a bit of an unfair question, like asking someone like him or Joel what their favorite book is, but Spencer is curious about what Levi's answer might be. "You can't say all of them, by the way, that would be cheating."

[tarnishedbadge]

"It's a good story. It's stood as a classic for a long time."

Levi didn't judge Spencer for having what sounded like an entire wall dedicated to The Velveteen Rabbit but it was... not the sort of thing he heard from most people. Levi could actually understand it though, it was a powerful story about something seeming real becoming real. If he had taken more psychology classes he might have looked into that a bit more.

"I think it's a tie between Uncanny X-Men #175 and X-Men #112, the one from 2001. Both of them show Cyclops, whose is normally so reserved, just letting loose and being a bad ass."

[doublethepain]

"Yes," Spencer quietly agrees with a nod. It's not just that it's a classic, Spencer is attached to the story in a way that he can't even begin to really verablize because it brings back too many memories, good but also painful, of his father. It had been the first book he remembers his father giving him, the first one they'd read together, the first one Spencer had memorized every word to as a child.

He feels the familiar pang of loss in his chest, and he has to turn around so he can scrub a hand over his face as he lets out a silent sigh. It's been twenty-three years since he'd lost his father, just over two since he'd lost his mother and brother, but he thinks he knows better than most that there's no expiration date on grief.

"You're a Cyclops fan, then?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder at Levi with a smile curving his lips. "He gets far more flack than I ever thought he deserved."