Blast from the Past (pt 2)

[Archer Keating]

(done via email)

05/28/2013 7:56 AM Rex Evans
"..Yeah, thanks for that info. Now m'gonna make sure I do steal 'em." Only, not really; it was as he'd said, he wasn't a blanket thief-- but Archer made it damn hard to resist doing so just because well, Chase was a jerk. He'd do anything to get a rise out of anyone, even if it was done in a less-than-harmless fashion. Still, he got up with the help from the other, and managed to stay that way, too. Now, it would have been a different story had he tapped into three out of four of the bottles, but as of yet, he could at least walk-- he could have passed one of those lame, field-sobriety tests with flying colors. Until, of course, it got to the breathalyzer..

As easily as that, he was following after him, and even glimpsed at the scar that was made visible as the other was tugging his shirt off while in motion. "You? Cranky?" he teased, but no sooner than they were in the bed room he snared Archer by the wrist just to pull him to a sudden stop that would've been hard to deny. At least he made certain not to tighten his grip out of habit before ducking around him to get a look at the wrap-around scar while damn near intentionally ignoring the comment about no alarm clocks. "What happened?" It might not have ben anything huge and nasty, but it'd still piqued his curiosity. "..And no, no clocks. Me 'n them have'a bad rep." As in, he had broken quite a few by sheer accident, when they'd been flung across the room.

Regardless, his grip on his wrist released, and a moment later he unfolded his sleeve so his cigarettes and lighter could fall into his free hand, then had no qualms with pulling the shirt - collar first - up and off his body. It left his hair an even messier sight, but he couldn't have cared less. As of late, he'd been considering shaving it all off anyway-- who knew what stopped him. He wasn't at all flawless like Archer may have been considered; he had circular scars - at least four of them - three on his back, and one just beneath the right side of his ribcage - that had obviously been archaically operated on; field work. He'd done it himself after a botched advance had landed everyone but himself dead. There was a line through the original wound-scar, equip with ten small indented holes across the top and bottom that had long since turned white and healed over. Still, the muscle tone was present and obvious, more defined than he had been some six years ago. The shirt was tossed to the side, and the cigarettes and lighter were set atop the dresser before he took to scratching at the literal barcoded ink on the back of his neck.

"Y'sure y'don't want me sleepin' in th'floor instead?" Yeah, it was a last ditch effort uttered right before he twist-turned, and dropped onto his back on the bed. First things first, he snatched one pillow and shoved it beneath his head.



5/28/2013 8:13 AM Archer Keating
Somehow the threat about stealing the blankets didn't come across as anything that Archer felt he needed to worry about so he chuckled. "Uh-huh. Okay. Yes. I do get cranky sometimes." He didn't try to remind Chase about the various points in their childhood where the younger of the two Keatings had thrown a fit. He also didn't remind Chase about the hole in the garage created when a chair had been thrown at the wall after a 'left behind' episode had occurred. A hole that Archer had learned all about drywall while fixing under the watchful eye of his mother.

Fingers around his wrist caused a breath to get sucked in, his steps stopped by the hold. Attention went from the comment about alarm clocks and his looking toward the bed to Chase when asked that question. "Biking accident. A drunk swerved and hit me."

He shrugged a little 'what can you do' expression then chuckled. "Yeah, no clocks is a great idea." He rubbed his wrist then shucked out of his jeans. Boxers were all he was going to be sleeping in, thank you very much. His blue gaze traveled over Chase and the scars he had acquired in recent years. Archer gave a slow whistle and shook his head. He didn't know what to say about it so he didn't say anything. "No. You sleep on the bed. It's fine." He flashed a smile and went around the bed so he could drop onto his side, gathering up his own pillow and stuffing his arm under it, cheek resting on the softness.

He was on his side, watching Chase. After a couple of moments of silence, he whispered, "I don't want to go to sleep. A part of me is afraid you'll be gone when I wake up."



5/28/2013 8:35 AM Rex Evans
He'd remember it all in due time. Sleep typically helped in that regard; bringing forward missing pieces, randomly, that somehow made the entire thing fit -- not nearly as quick as that made it sound, however. It just helped.

For a split second, he was concerned over Archer's answer of how he'd acquired the scar.. but only because he knew full well he wasn't the kind to get drunk and stumble his way home. Usually. But, even in all of his own drunk glory - as Rex, - he would have remembered hitting someone. He did shake his head, though. "Fuckin' idiots," he grumbled, quite hypocritically, especially given his own condition as of right then and there. At least he was a functioning alcoholic? Now, anyway. The shrug Archer gave only gained a partial smirk out of the former sleeper before he'd went right ahead and made himself as comfortable as he could; you'd just have to excuse the fact that it was rare to get him out of jeans and boots, at least. Chase was just that fucking paranoid that he'd have to jump up and roll with something that he wouldn't be expecting. And go figure, it'd been one night - this one night - that he'd straight up forgotten to grab his pistol before heading out.

The whistle in regards to his own scars gained little attention, but only because there wasn't much to be said about them. He could recall them, but didn't really want to. So instead, he watched when Archer got into the bed and stuffed the pillow beneath his head, too. Afterwards, though, his gaze had drifted up to the ceiling just to watch it faintly spin.. that is, until he heard the whispered words, and slow as ever, he rolled onto his side to mimic the other's position. The hand that wasn't tucked under the pillow beneath his own head moved just to snatch up Archer's before going still again. "I ain't goin' nowhere.." And while the words were much quieter than the tone he typically took, the graveled undertone was still there. As if on second thought, he shifted just enough to kick and pry his boots off so they fell off the end of the bed before he went still again. It was almost hesitant, really, but he moved closer and - at the same time - pulled Archer closer to him until he was close enough that, when he let go of his hand, he could lazily drape an arm over him. As if it somehow solidified what he'd said. "Don't even think 'bout it right now.. jus' sleep.. you'll see when y'wake up."



5/28/2013 8:55 AM Archer Keating
He chuckled. "Yeah, that's what mum said. And more." The more had been actually funny to watch, Mum sputtering and swearing, upset that someone had hit her boy. Archer figured it was because she had just lost Quinn and it made her more protective of Archer as a result. They were closer than they ever had been before because of that. "You know she was glad it happened back home though. She got to take care of me until I could travel and get back here to work." They'd done a lot of talking during his initial recouperation.

Archer didn't care what Chase wore to sleep in. That he was there at all was the most important point to Archer. A friend thought lost, a hero thought dead and now back. Archer gave a little grin in response to Chase's assurance that he wasn't going anywhere. He didn't lie and say 'I know' or anything like that. His fear was real and not easily put aside. At being tugged in closer, Archer didn't fight it. He scooted in and even put his hand on the bed next to Chase. A slight shift of fingers and he could feel the warmth of his skin. It was a reassurance to Archer that he wasn't imagining all this. Although it would suck if he woke up and none of this had actually happened. "I'll hold you to that." His smile was lazy, an expression tinged with fatigue as the adrenaline that had been fueling him was finally starting to ebb away. He reached up to catch Chase's arm, his hand sliding up so he could curl his fingers around Chase's hand. He brought that hand up to his cheek and tucked it between his cheek and the pillow. Only after a long moment of his gaze resting on Chases face did Archer's blue eyes drift closed.



5/28/2013 9:20 AM Rex Evans
He believed it simply because, well, hell, he knew how he would have reacted had he been there when it'd happened. How, exactly, he knew, was kind of odd and left unsaid for the time and instead he only offered a smirk when Archer mentioned his mom was glad it happened back home. "M'sorry.." he said, even if it was a bit out of place. It had nothing to do with the fact that his mother had gotten to take care of him until he was well enough to get back to work, though.

Chase did little else than grin when he was told he'd be held to it, but only because it was entirely too obvious that Archer wasn't quite sure just how hard he could figuratively latch onto things and people, these days. The detective, the dog, anything that made him feel grounded. Typically, when he said something, he meant it, and would go to lengths unknown to most anyone to ensure he kept his word. It would likely become something that would make itself obvious sooner or later, given his knack of attracting the wrong kind of attention-- better yet, being hunted. It was like he said though; Archer would see when he woke up.

What he wasn't expecting, though, for his hand to be caught up and taken up beneath Archer's cheek, though he didn't protest it nor pull his hand back. If anything, that jokester expression disappeared almost completely and he merely watched across at him until those blue eyes eventually closed. Something of a muted sigh was exhaled, and he lifted his head only enough to pull his arm out from beneath his own pillow, then let it drop between them too. Chase couldn't have placed it yet, but, he felt entirely too comfortable just then-- which was a rarity in itself. As if he'd been waiting for something that was just finally there? The thought and feel that went along with it just further blew his mind, but it didn't matter too much so long as it was there. He didn't mull over it, or try to make sense of it, and eventually.. even he managed to fall asleep.



05/28/2013 9:50 AM Archer Keating
Unlike most nights, this night Archer didn't move at all while he slept. He had dreams about the old days. Quinn had never liked it when Chase would let Archer have some of whatever it was the older boys were drinking. The dream, however, wasn't about one of those times. It was in the garage and it was a party that really never happened except in this dream. There were girls around, the guys were shooting pool, there was music. A young Archer was watching Chase line up a shot, Quinn had a girl on either arm and was making fun of Chase to get Chase to screw up the shot. It didn't miss. It richoched around the table and landed Chases ball right in the pocket Chase named it would end up in. That's when Chase looked at Archer and winked. Archer lifted his red plastic cup that held what remained of a cuba libre. Chase approached to take the cup and finish off what was left then laughed at Archer's indignation of having his drink stolen. Somehow in the dream the cup disappeared and it was just them, Chase wrapping his arm around Archer with Archer looking up at him with a dimpled grin. Fingers in his hair, Archer's arms wrapped around Chase. The young dream-Archer eager for that first kiss from the grinning dream-Chase.

Archer woke with a gasp, eyes wide open. His fingers had tightened around the hand he had still tucked between his cheek and the pillow. He swore to god he could still feel lips against his own but sometimes dreams were like that, weren't they? So vivid that you just knew they had to be real. But it wasn't. That had just been a dream because nothing like that had ever happened. Archer swallowed hard, the details of the dream fading from memory no matter how hard he tried to keep hold of them.

He didn't want to disturb Chase and slowly let his grip ease. Very carefully, he rolled out of bed. Bare feet quietly took him to the bathroom. Cold water on his face and a few minutes of staring into the mirror later, he quietly went back into the bedroom. The clock read almost six in the morning. Not nearly enough sleep to get him through the next day but damn if he was too wired to go back to bed. He stood watching Chase for a few minutes before drifting from the bedroom to go sit on the couch. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes but sleep was not going to return to him.



05/28/2013 10:11 AM Rex Evans
For one night, Chase would have killed for a dream equally as .. semi-innocent as the one Archer was having. Instead, his were typical. Full of either bloodshed - blood on his hands, or more flipping scenes of the agents trying over the span of six months to completely break him. The needles under his nails, the electric volts that would surge to keep his brain from shutting down. The questions, the absolute mess he was left in after each session; the rage, like he was seeing through the eyes of a rabid, caged dog. They were the ones that left him in the cold sweats and aching tirelessly even once he was awake.

It was only a bit different on this night. Dreams tended to blend when his mind was working hard to remember certain things; in this case, the faces he'd seen in the pictures -- Quinn, and Archer. Their mother. Even then, when the dream shifted and he physically relaxed again it wasn't because any particular scene was flooding over the backs of his eyelids; more line lines of encrypted information that only he could make sense of, because, hell, Chase could read fucking binary as if he were reading a book or a magazine. It came with pictures, though; one's he hadn't seen in the album, or from the box. Glimpses and prods of memories that should be there, certain other things that accompanied them..

But when he woke up, Archer had apparently moved and that was well and fine. Both hands moved fairly quickly just to rub down his face silently before he shoved up to sit on the edge of the bed. After all, he never slept long - even if only because of the dreams - and a quick glance at the clock confirmed it well enough. He was up and off the bed with a light grunt that accompanied the snapping of certain vertebrae that didn't even as much as phase him anymore, and though he left his boots right where they'd fallen when he and Archer had initially laid down, he snagged his cigarettes and made his way out of the room, down the hallway, and glanced over at the couch only to see Archer there; really, he was only going to grab his glass and drown his brain with water, to jump-start the intoxication all over again, but.. instead, he took a deep breath, rounded the couch and dropped down beside him. All without a word. "I didn't kick ya' did I?" he mumbled, only because of the sleep that still held a grip on him.



05/28/2013 10:31 AM Archer Keating
He was drifting in that place that was almost dream and partially awake when he felt movement on the couch next to him. Archer's head lifted, his own hair a disheveled mess of blond. Blue eyes landed on Chase and peered at him through bangs currently falling forward. "No. I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." There was no way he was going to share what he'd been dreaming about. A faint smile did tug at his lips briefly. "I didn't want to wake you. You looked like you were sleeping pretty good. You needed it." He gave a nudge of his elbow into Chase's side.

The idea of insomnia was foreign to Archer. He very seldom had any issues sleeping. A lot had happened though so he accepted it for now. He doubted he would have trouble sleeping later. In fact, he probably was going to have a hard time staying awake later in the afternoon. He didn't care much though.

Archer shifted his position so he was turned on the couch facing Chase, his elbow on the back of the couch with his cheek propped on his fist. "What about you? What woke you up?"



05/28/2013 10:44 AM Rex Evans
He dropped his head forward almost as soon as he'd sat down, one hand raking through his hair while the other still held firm to the cigarettes he'd toted along with him. For a moment, it was almost as if he couldn't even look up. It wasn't, really, that there was a problem-- he was simply still sorting out his own thoughts that remained from his own onslaught of dreams. In all honesty, it may have made things easier if Archer had've shared what he'd dreamed about. Hah. The nudge to his side rocked him to the side
lightly, and he finally sat up. "Yeah, I think you're right," he said with a faint smirk.

Sleep was so fucking rare for him, he'd take what he could get - when he could get it; and oddly, he hadn't passed out due to alcohol levels being rocketing through the roof. The question concerning what had woke him though, only made him shake his head before he shoved up off the couch and made his way to the window. Unlatched it, pushed it open, and only then went about lighting up one of the cigarettes; it was unavoidable. But he sure as hell wasn't about to smoke in Archer's apartment so openly; at least he opened a window! Anywhere else, he wouldn't have bothered. "Same ol' dreams, man," he started. "But more. Some not so bad, though. There was a faint snicker of a laugh that followed, though. "R'membered a few things 'bout you. You 'n Quinn," he said, almost as if it were a correction of sorts, there at the end.



05/28/2013 11:16 AM Archer Keating
He just grinned wider when Chase admitted that perhaps Archer was right about Chase needing sleep. Archer had enough grace not to rub it in though and instead watched Chase get up and head for the window. He let his hands rest in his lap, eyes following Chase while he lit up.

The same old dreams comment got a flicker of concern to flash across Archer's expression. That didn't sound good. But the comment about remembering things made the concern fade and a smile take its place. "That's good! What did you remember?" He noted the correction but it didn't make his smile falter at all. He didn't prod about that either but Archer wasn't going to let the subject of Chase remembering something go. He wanted to hear it all and see if he could help add some details, fill in the blanks.

Archer pushed off the couch and headed for window himself, taking a place on the opposite side and leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his bare chest. "I want to hear every little detail."



05/28/2013 11:31 AM Rex Evans
Even if Archer had've prodded at the correction, it wasn't as if Chase would have denied any of it; he'd never been the type, and still wasn't. For the longest time, he'd even used it as a shock-factor of sorts, against the people who didn't know too much about him-- besides that he was a bad-ass, awesome mechanic, and damn good pool player. He only smirked at the other's eagerness to hear about what he remembered, and even glanced over to him when he was joined at the window.

A few steady pulls were taken from the cigarette before he said anything, though he still managed a grin when Archer spoke of wanting to hear every little detail. "I remember fightin' with Quinn about lettin' you drink.." he started, easily enough, despite the spiraling smoke and the filter between his lips. "Especially when we went out to th'beach. Remember? Like he thought, just'a beer was gonna get you so drunk you'd fall in and drown or somethin'.

"I remember spendin' th'night at your place a lot 'cause mine wasn't ever quiet. Always fightin' 'n shit.. so I'd come over in th'middle of th'night, 'n your mom wouldn't even get mad. She'd just let in." Even if that was before he'd been old enough to go into the military; it was still jumbled. Work with him!

"Kinda like I grew up there. Even if we did some real dumb shit sometimes. .. Like th'time we went down to th'old junk yard 'n found the keys to one of th'cars. And it still cranked up. I swear, I didn't think it'd even roll.." he said, grinning. Luckily, no one had been hurt, but.. it was funny -now- that he could remember it again. "And you.." he started, only pausing to take another longer pull from the cigarette. God, it sounded like he'd spent the night watching homemade videos or something, didn't it? "..When I came back from basic, I was tryin' so hard to jus' stay away.." Why, though, he trailed off. "Those three months were fuckin' hard, y'know? So much shit I wanted to say 'n didn't, or.. couldn't, 'cause it would'a started a fuckin' fight." ..Not that he minded fights, he was just pointing it out.



05/28/2013 12:09 PM Archer Keating
His expectant look didn't change while Chase took his time with those long drags on his cigarette. Archer let the silence remain between them, his smile growing by small degrees as each second ticked by.

Archer nodded to confirm that memory. "Oh yeah. He got in your face over that. He threatened to tell mum but never did. I think she knew anyway." He turned so his back was to the wall. "I liked going to the beach with you guys. I remember a lot of times we went there. A few times you guys tried to go without me but I followed. One time you didn't know I followed you. I saw it when you guys brawled with the Jenkins boys and you broke Ben's arm." He studied Chase to see if that brought any sparks to Chase's memories.

"Yeah, it got to the point that it was weird when you went home." No mention of the times a young Archer would lay on his bed with his chin on the window sill at the head of his bed watching the driveway, waiting for Chase to 'come home'. "Mum liked it." His blue eyes twinkled with laughter at the junk yard memory. "I almost fell out of that car when it lurched."

Archer's brows went up at the 'and you' followed by a pause. "What about me?" He didn't prod further but when the topic jumped to those three months, his head rolled a little to the side so he could look at Chase more directly. During that time Quinn had gotten a job and was living with friends more than living at home. Archer wasn't old enough to be on his own yet. Mum kept Archer on a tight leash during that time, making sure she knew where he was almost every minute of the day. His voice lowered to a whisper. "What do you mean start a fight? I never understood why you stayed away, Chase. Still don't get it. When Quinn did come home, he wouldn't talk to me about you. Just told me to forget it and just get back to my schoolwork." He shrugged and went back to looking at the ceiling. "Mum said you guys were in a different stage of life and there wasn't room for a kid in it." He never let on to anyone how that had hurt or how that was the first time in his life that he didn't believe his mum without question. He chuckled while a hand lifted to try to smooth back his blond hair.



05/28/2013 12:30 PM Rex Evans
He smirked a little, upon that first confirmed memory. "Prob'ly," he said. Honestly, Chase had just never really understood why Quinn had, had a problem with it-- it hadn't been like they weren't drinking at that age, and otherwise acting dumb. And he, personally, wouldn't have let anything happen. "..Y'saw that?" he asked, amber eye squinting lightly even if his gaze was directed out the window. It was still a technique he'd used up until getting out of the battlefield. Snap someone's arm, and it instantly ended hand-to-hand combat, unless the person was hopped up on something. "He shouldn't'a hit me in th'face. I gave 'im warnin'.."

"Y'know there were times I never even wanted t'leave." And at least he'd had enough sense to go where he knew it was okay, instead of just plain out running off. "You guys had th'coolest mom, I swear," he added, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of his nose briefly before taking another pull from the cigarette. Even if she'd done her best and frustrated them all at times, just trying to keep them all on the straight and narrow. "Guess that's prob'ly why I remember her more than my own mom. Y'know. All I remember 'bout her 'n dad is that they fought all th'time."

He smirked at the thought of Archer nearly falling out of the junked car, and glanced over at him briefly. "Yeah, right. Y'would'a had'ta go through my seat first." He was teasing, plain and simple.

What about me? Yeah, he heard it, but he didn't circle back just yet. Instead, his shoulders dropped and he planted one palm on the window sill, before leaning out a bit just to glance down the side of the building, down the ten floors. "'Cause I told 'im somethin' I should'a kept my mouth shut about. After that, he made it pretty clear he didn' want me t'come around. Bad influence, y'know.. s'not that I didn't want to.." But hell, he'd had no idea if Quinn had told their mother, either. Last thing he wanted was to show up and send her into some sort of frantic frenzy, beating him off with a broom or worse.

"Guess it wasn't cool t'go 'n tell your brother I had some sort'a thing for ya'.. 'specially when you weren't old enough to drink, by his ideas. I don't know, Archer. ...I stayed away 'cause I didn't wanna start a fight with anyone." Their mom, Quinn, -- and in the end, he'd went off thinking he'd lost his friends 'cause of a stupid drunken slip up. Alcohol makes even the most obscure truths pour, apparently, if you weren't careful. "Tha's all I remember right now.." he said, shaking his head before putting the cigarette back in his mouth, just to be nudged from side to side with the tip of his tongue as it rested between his teeth.



05/28/2013 1:38 PM Archer Keating
"Mmhmm. I heard the bone crack. I almost threw up." That wasn't something he would have admitted to in years gone by. He wanted to be cool so he could hang with the big boys. A little sissy boy throwing up at the sound of bones cracking wasn't cool to Archer's young mind at the time. Now he didn't care as much about cool. It was what it was. "You looked so surprised that he hit you like that." Archer chuckled at the memory. His smile turned warm hearing that Chase sometimes hadn't wanted to leave.

"A lot of guys have said they thought she was cool. After you left, they kept coming around. Mum didn't let me hang out much with them." He had asked a lot until they heard that Chase was dead. Archer shook his head to rid himself of that memory. "When the Blades came through, the guys all swarmed the place. The Blades didn't hang around too long after that." Never mind that mum had been on the porch with a cell phone calling the cops and a shot gun aimed about waist high on the gang members. They apparently hadn't expected the block mother to come out of the house packing heat.

He chuckled about the junker car. Archer had never been afraid to try anything that the guys told him to do. He trusted them both completely with that naieve faith in his big brother and Chase. "I swear I felt someone grab me by my pants and throw me back in my seat." It might have been a misperception but that was how Archer remembered it.

His laughter died away when the conversation went to Quinn and a conversation with Chase that ended badly. He really never thought they would ever fight over anything and never could figure out what the issue had been between the two. But then Chase kept talking and explained further. For a second Archer forgot to breathe. He straightened and turned to face Chase, surprise all over his face. "You..?" Different things sort of settled into place for Archer. Mostly just pieces of conversations that made more sense. He shook his head and leaned against the wall by the window again. "Mum's a good Catholic. Me? Not so much." He drew in a deep breath, his head tipping again so he could watch Chase and his cigarette. A slow exhale followed. It was a lot to take in.

"Do you still have a thing for me?"

Archer almost hadn't asked but he decided what the hell. He knew that it didn't matter what the answer really was, he wasn't going to turn his back on Chase. He had too many years of friendship in the bank to give up that easily. It was an honest question and he had to admit he knew what he wanted to hear but lots of things had happened since then. Hell, Chase barely remembered anything. Archer wasn't sure if something like that would still be there. A sudden fear of hearing a negative answer had him saying, "I mean, .. um." He held his breath to keep from talking and then just ended with, "I don't know what I mean. Just, do you?"



05/28/2013 2:02 PM Rex Evans
Rex snorted back a laugh at the idea of Archer nearly throwing up upon hearing the bone crack. If there'd ever been a time when such a reaction would have radiated from himself, though, he wasn't remembering it-- or, it just wasn't there; plain and simple. God only knew the things he'd seen since that event, and the only time he'd ever threw up was when he hurt to the point of not being able to do anything about it. ..And no, he wouldn't admit that, if he was ever asked. "I was. I mean, goddamn.. y'don't hit me in th'face 'less you wanna hurt afterwards." And, true to his word, Chase still felt the same way and would do the same damn thing over again, if it presented itself.

He fell silent, though, when the talk shifted to after he'd left. There was still a shit ton he needed to explain, and how it'd even come to be - why they dubbed him as dead, even if a lot of it could be speculated by anyone who knew the truth about the shadow-CIA who'd taken over. "The Blades," he said, as if it had just sparked right back in his head. "Fuckin' hell, how'd that manage to not sink back in.." he mumbled, shaking his head. Especially since he'd gone head to head with them numerous times. "Good.. though. Good they stayed th'fuck away," he added, reaching up to rub at his jaw lightly.

However, he did grin again at the idea that someone had jerked Archer back into his seat by his pants. Hey, it was possible!

By the time Archer was questioning him in some form of shock or.. whatever it equated to, Chase had all but leaned forward and out the window again to stare down at the sidewalk from the high perch. He was obviously used to low-down places; such as the single-story apartment he'd been staying in.. and the house he technically owned, but didn't even want to as much as look at. Yet. "Yeah.." he trailed, first. "'n I know she is. S'kinda why I guess it didn't go over that great wit' Quinn. That 'n I'm pretty fuckin' sure he thought I'd get you killed or somethin'." But damn how true that could be, now..

Do you still have a thing for me? He spared Archer a quick glance; a double-take of sorts, before flicking the remainder of his cigarette out the window, clear away from the building, and likely into the street. "Nah, I just throw fuckin' peanuts at every bartender I see," he teased, and then reached up to scratch around the coded tattoo on the back of his neck again. The attempt to change the question the other boy had posed only gained a light, almost accidental roll of his eyes, but he was damn near gouging that tattoo by that point.

No, his answer hadn't been enough. A near-taunting response didn't do it justice, not even in Chase's wrecked and jumbled brain. He'd always had an issue with being straight-forward about things, instead of beating around the bush; he was a cryptic type of guy. He drew in a slow, deep, breath then and settled his gaze on Archer; and it was a shame no one else could have seen the second's worth of plotting that rolled around in his head before he moved. The action was fast, as usual-- hell, it was just something people'd have to get used to. And it wasn't meant to be entirely too rough, the way he dropped his hands and grabbed Archer's wrists before stepping forward and all but pinning either hand against the wall. And without further warning, that dark head of his ducked down just far enough to catch Archer's mouth with his own in a not-so-terribly-light kiss. One that should have answered that question of his right away, really, but also seemed to - for himself - dissolve the whole feeling of holding back for.. god.. years. Add in their last night, and well.. there you had it. When he drew back, it was only so he could watch down at him; he even loosened his grip on Archer's hands. "..Good 'nough of'n answer?" Yeah, leave it to him to be a smart ass.