[Eames left the mark on him in the form of a bruise. Well, so did the old man. Mr. Orange could be Mr. Peach the way he bruises.]
The riots.
[Which ones? C'mon. They don't even need to say.]
I don't think Arthur coulda been there for that. [Listen! The gears are moving in his head. His hand doesn't stop the motion because it is as calming as it is repetitious. This maybe how Freddy's hair can get greasy from time to time. Someone can't keep his damn hands off.]
[Peaches taste pretty good especially with cream so really he wouldn't mind it if Larry decided to call him that. Preferably only in private company though. Hey does he know Eames' taken to calling the kid a clementine? Likewise the limey's a mango to Freddy. They're all a bunch of fruits in the end.]
I don't think so. [Shaking his head.] If he was he had to be like ten years old. I didn't see any photographers either.
[Very astute of Mr. White. Freddy finds it easier to talk under that working paw.] Yeah, he was collecting the stuff.
[He's a tangerine dream if he's not peaches and cream. That one is for Freddy's ears and Freddy's ears alone. No, he hasn't heard clementine. Heh. That would be rather fitting for the guy. Compact and Orange thinking on it more would be enough to get a chuckle out of him if he didn't see this was edging on a serious matter.
Not much wondering to be had as to why. A cop was pretty much on the foreground there.]
That's because he's nosy.
[And smart, getting into other people's business.]
[Freddy doesn't want to edge it towards anything serious. What happened happened. Bad shit happens every day, patrol is business as usual. Except for the helmet, that was new.]
Yeah, he let me have it, no questions asked.
[Another thoughtful pause and finally these caramel green eyes are looking up at brown ones.]
You wanna keep it? [Not a trick question, honest.]
[That remark gets a quirk of his brow. Really, Lawrence Dimick? Well of course, he took the nudes himself after all. The idea amuses Freddy Newendyke.]
Okay. It's all yours.
[There's a story to tell, maybe, but how is it any different from what others experienced? What can he say that won't directly conflict with Larry's experience or anyone else's? It was a lot of Us vs. Them he recalls, not the shiniest moment in anyone's history. Still though he has a reason for wanting Larry to have the picture, a reminder because the kid doesn't wear a badge in this world.]
I wasn't there but I sure heard things. I seen news coverage.
[From those crazy reporters. Sounded like everybody went crazy. The old man gently tucks the picture into his shirt pocket close to his heart.]
It was fucking hard on your end.
[That is not a question. It is a statement. Larry does not like cops or the system however he can't deny that it is what Freddy is devoted to like he is devoted to the old man. He bites back on any sort of an opinion. He wasn't there in Los Angeles, just Baja. The grapevine ain't that long.]
[Freddy shakes his head against Larry's thigh. If the old man had been hoping a cop would get smacked by a bottle or something then that's that, can't change his nature. The kid would be lying if he said he hadn't wished violence on anyone, no matter how trivial like a rack of shoes collapsing on looters trying to clean out a store. It is what it is.]
After all that I still stayed a cop.
[That's the important part to him. In a way it made him want to keep being one.]
[It pleases Freddy in a subtle yet very important way that Larry can say such words to him. His question deserves some honest thought. Does he want to be one here? Yes. Can he be one here? With or without Blonde around? He's not too sure.]
I want to sometimes, yeah. The department's a little small, the one here, and they don't got a lot of resources or leadership. It ain't ideal.
[Small enough to be overextended, the old man can see that. It sure wouldn't be advantageous to get swept up against some gang warfare. That wouldn't be good at fucking all. Thick fingers keep on combing.]
Bunches of things here aren't ideal.
[Thinking back the old man remembers how happy Freddy was to patrol an overgrown sandbox with heavy artillery. Guarddogging isn't the same. Best let it alone.]
[He argues without sharing any specifics because really what does he have to share? He's resting in the lap of a man he cares about a whole fucking lot on the grass by a lake doing nothing but talking. It's ideal.]
Naw. I didn't get hurt. Nothing nobody else was already watching out for you know? Rocks, cans, smoke. [Freddy tilts his head back up to look at Larry.] How was Baja?
[Smile there for the truth. This is very ideal. Better than going home which is better than going home alone. So much better.]
The days were hot, the nights were cool. Helped lift a store.
[We're being honest here. He hopes it's not going to be a problem. While Freddy will always be a cop, the old man isn't going to stop being a crook. It's wormed right on into him. There's no place but here where a guy can make a decent living with the sort of background he got unless it is flipping burgers.]
[He returns the smile with equal energy, appreciating the company and his honesty. No it's not going to be a problem, this was all in the past anyway. The fact that Larry can make a decent living here and only here is just another reason to fear having to go back, but that fear is neither here nor there. Freddy's not thinking about it.]
[Besides get shot. Old shit still means something. No lie Larry feels himself about to burst at the seams knowing that they're that okay to talk shit out. A month ago things weren't so sweet. It's a damn marvel.]
Are you trying to get me hungry? They were delicioso.
[That's the truth. He brought Larry over to this place because it's nice, it's a cool place to share, it's great company, and to give him the photograph where no one else would see. Anything else just comes around as a secondary perk. Perks maybe he just can't refuse either.]
But nice if it comes up.
[No innuendo there, Mr. White. Orange purses his lips to meet each kiss.]
I better think of something to give you. Not too fair that all the photos you got are on your phone.
[And are, much like Dimick's, in a state of nudity. They are just that comfortable with one another. Freddy in his lap with the bike nearby could make a good picture.]
If it? [Another peck, they keep rolling one after the other. Larry sighs and slowly starts to slip his tongue out to run on the seam of Freddy's lips.]
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