"I got my GED in the end. It's not as big a deal as you might think, but then I was convinced no one would hire me without one." As far as Jude knew Zaid was living well within his means. His gut told him that even full time at a coffee shop probably wasn't the most margin for a comfortable life, but it was likely a liveable one. Assuming he got to keep tips. Was New York a tip-keeping state? He'd never really thought about that before...

And there was the loose end that Jude had wondered about. Zaid's parents were officially out of the picture. That was... a few years ago at least. Making it in the city as a kid was rough. He did know that first hand. He might insist that parents were overrated if Zaid hadn't sounded still sad about it. He wasn't completely insensitive. It was just that his bio parents weren't ever in the picture and the substitutes he'd idolized went 1 part crazy murderous.

Time and time again life had proved to him that he should stop trying to connect with others and just do his own thing. And yet... here he was again. Trying.

"Most of what I picked up from those guys is a bunch of new and creative insults. Not to mention a very specific set of skills... like filing papers, and reloading magazines, the difference between a magazine and a clip, and counting bullets. So. much. counting." Really. It wasn't like he was out there in the practice shoot house. He'd only just let them badger him into training with them at all.

"School's not for everyone." He confirmed. It had been a chore, but he'd done it all again because he'd felt he'd had to. And then bombed out at the end of it all anyway. What a constant source of disappointment he was.

"But in getting a job, I feel like I finally found somewhere to... be? If that makes sense?" Or maybe he meant a place where he belonged. That was an odd thought. Did he belong with those guys?

"I mean, there's plenty of people who do college and find out it's not for them, but I guarantee most of the people don't go in totally decided on where they belong and what they should do. If you want to go take a class, take a class. But just surviving sucks. Just getting up and going through the motions sucks. You gotta have something you're excited about..." Not that Jude was a college counselor or anything. Just an interested party.

Zaid felt himself relax a little when Jude admitted he just got his GED. Part of him always felt embarrassed admitting he hadn't finished school. People seemed to think that was lazy, or assumed the worst if you said you didn't have your high school diploma. To Zaid it was just a piece of paper he missed along the way. If given the chance, maybe he would have gone for the GED too, but he also had more life experience that felt significant in finding a better career.

Zaid chuckled when Jude mentioned counting. "Working in a kitchen, there is way more math than I think I ever did even in school. But counting bullets sounds even worse. At least I don't have to count coffee beans or anything silly." He chuckled.

"And it makes perfect sense. I was always told that being happy where you worked was the most important thing. I think that feeling of belonging is what most people hunt for. If you have it, you should hold onto it. Even if it may not seem like the ideal career to everyone else? The flip side is my job I guess. I don't hate it, but nothing about it makes me feel like this is what I want to keep doing..."

Doing something he felt excited about. Zaid considered it more, pausing as the leash tugged closer to a tree. He wouldn't rush the dogs, they had been well behaved at the restaurant. "I think, I'm still looking for that one thing. If I get ahead on bills, taking a course wouldn't be a bad idea. Eventually something will stand out and feel right. But, I guess where I'm at isn't a horrible place to be in the meantime?"

"Bullets are different, though. Each one could mean a lot. Or nothing at all since most of ours are shot at targets." Still, there were rules and BlacTac skirted enough of them that they didn't need to be breaking the easy, if annoying to follow, ones.

Belonging...

> "...If you have it, you should hold onto it..."

He hadn't really put that together. But it was purpose and there was real trust there, hard won over a few difficult incidents. It was one of the longest steady jobs he'd had that wasn't government-based or in a dream.

"Yeah..." And then, once more with feeling. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I fit there in a weird way, I guess."

> "The flip side is my job I guess. I don't hate it, but nothing about it makes me feel like this is what I want to keep doing..."

That was disheartening to hear. No one wanted to be stuck somewhere. But it seemed too early to be asking about specifics and details that strangers typically kept close to their chest. He elaborated a little, but Jude knew a thing or two about balance a budget... maybe he'd offer. Later. When it seemed more appropriate.

"I don't know where you live, but a coffee shop isn't a bad way to be. Especially if the boss knows your situation. Hell, a boss can make or break a job. Isn't that how that saying goes?" Jude swallowed hard. The Ranger was coming home eventually, right? "Eventually something else will come along. I believe that. But, I also believe that it's not gonna come all by itself. You gotta go try new things. Do a thing that's scary or... I dunno? Apply for a job you don't think you'll keep?" That sounded like really bad advice now that it was out of his mouth.

"Did you ever think about what you wanted to do as a kid? Like, pie in the sky crazy, no holds barred... back when you didn't know what limits or job eligibility meant... what'd you want to do then?"

Zaid didn’t have much experience with bullets, so he would have to take Jude’s word for it. He watched as Jude considered his own job, and then listened as things popped back to Zaid himself. The bunny mutant considered the final question, looking thoughtful.

”Is it odd that I never really did? As a kid, my family was traditional. Education was very regimented and focused. You took your normal coursework and hopefully did well at something worth pursuing. My parents always seemed to have more say on what I should do for the future, and I had no reason to fight it. When school was tough, I was just trying to get through it. There wasn’t an end game ready when I was forced to just start working...”

The dogs moved onward, and they turned another corner. Zaid’s nose could smell a hotdog vendor off one way, and hear a dog barking from some balcony. ”You have been the only one to actually ask what I wanted to do. I guess I have to consider it now,” he laughed, actually feeling a bit excited about something so simple. ”I just, I have never been great at doing things that scared me either. It was simpler to pick the safe route and just coast. I envy you a bit. You are willing to chase things even if they don’t work out.” Zaid realized.

What kind of crazy hover parents had Zaid had? Or was it a total lack of ambition. Jude didn't understand that at all so his going theory was 'Parents'.

"You might just be the first person in the history of ever who said that me chasing after every hairbrained idea was a good thing." The idea that Zaid'd never stopped to think about the "maybes" or the "could be"s really wigged Jude out.

"And, I mean, does cooking scare you? You have things you're good at, where you're comfortable even trying new things, right?" Zaid had come over to the Honeycomb and taken charge in a way Jude had never seen since. He liked it. "It doesn't all have to be scary. That's all I'm trying to say."

His nose was starting to run from the cold which was really not cool in any way. Jude tried to reshuffle his scarf to cover his nose.

Zaid blushed. Sometimes, he was more aware of the differences between his childhood and the ones here in the States. Moving had offered some opportunity to see different career paths and the flexibility of moving between jobs, but then there was the uncertainty that could go along with it. He felt a little embarrassed, actually. He never thought it was strange to let his parents decide his career path. It was just an expectation he had faced growing up. Most of his independence had to take part when they passed away. He almost wished he had considered more back during school.

"For someone who has chased exactly 0 hair-brained ideas, a level of passion and interest is something worth envying." He could almost see Jude's confusion with the situation. Zaid felt his ears flick nervously.

"Cooking...cooking has never scared me, actually. It's been, calming. I cooked with my mom a lot growing up, and Layne taught me everything on the menu at work and more. It's so familiar now, even new recipes aren't as intimidating I guess. It's, almost like a video game. I reach a new level and just, take it as a challenge. But, it's the only thing I can really think that I feel that way about." Zaid thought of how he felt being up front as a cashier, or the idea of working in a store, or even building things. Heck, he had to put together a piece of furniture on his own and it was a fiasco. The idea of IKEA anything made his tail tremble.

"You're right though. Cooking with you wasn't scary at all, and that was a new situation."

He did not miss how cold Jude seemed to get. He sniffed the air slightly, ears standing as he tried to place where they were. He wasn't as good as the dogs at locating things, but the bunny genes did fair enough.

"We're getting closer to Honeycomb... I really enjoyed this. I hate seeing you freeze though." He reached out so he could catch the second dog leash and hold it still so Jude could get his scarf in place.

Zero bad ideas? "Ahhhh. Yeeeeeah. Maybe this didn't come up last time, but I kinda ran away from home at age 11? I think most people would count that firmly in the "bad idea" column. And the people who don't would say it was a bad idea when I went back a few years later." He rubbed his nose to get more feeling back into it. It was the dang wind, really. And as much as the ear muffs weren't his favorite, at least they worked.

The dogs, who had been flagging, both perked up and started tail wagging. Funny ow quickly they'd adapted to their new "home." Which was not a permanent home, Jude mentally reminded himself. Not his dogs. But even if the dogs hadn't indicated the nearness of home, somehow Zaid knew too.

Rabbit's intuition? That was a thing, right?

"It's my own fault for freezing. I didn't want the kids to be crazy on our date." The kids being the dogs who were weirdly involved in this relationship. "And I can't say it wasn't worth it." All that warm Ramen and all the warm fuzzies kept his core plenty warm.

Running away from home was a level of rebellion Zaid could never imagine. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to understand what encouraged Jude to do it. He had a lot of curiosity for the choices the other made, and was happy to get to know him slowly. These little tidbits shaped Jude into who he was. ”Anyone will have an opinion about what you did or didn’t do in life. Whether it was running away for you or me dropping out of school. I have learned the only one who can decide if it was a bad choice is me.”

Bunnies don’t generally strike people as animals of confidence. The prey like nature often got in the way of what could be more brave personality traits. It was fun to feel the spark of excitement around Jude and the willingness to take chances. Jude was inclined to label which choices may have been flawed, but Zaid found things to appreciate in the whole picture.

He was drawn back when Jude admitted not wanting the dogs being crazy during the date. His mind caught on words like snares, feeling fuzzy inside. date. It felt like a dream. He blushed and grinned a little lopsided as his dog rugged toward the Collective they knew was nearby. ”I’m glad it was worth it. I still worry you’ll wake up and wonder what the heck you were thinking dating a rabbit.” he paused as they neared the point they would go different directions. ”Do you want a hand walking them back to your room? St least they aren’t tugging today but they still outnumber you.”

For some reason Jude felt anxious to explain the running away bit, maybe to prove he wasn't just an insane wild child, but he held his tongue. Jude didn't regret his choices. And Zaid hadn't asked. There would be plenty of other opportunities, assuming that Zaid didn't wake up one day and wonder why he ever signed up to date a headstrong power copier.

There was one spot the dogs always went crazy for near the front post. No doubt, the neighborhood dogs marked it or maybe once they'd seen a bagel there... either way Jude paused, knowing they wanted a good sniff at the front gate of the Honeycomb Collective.

> ”Do you want a hand walking them back to your room?"

"It's really not far now..." Or was Jude missing some social cue? "I mean, I'd love to show you my room, but the thought of all four of us crammed in there..." Eh. It was just possible there might be room... deliberation over, Jude opened the front gate for Zaid and with a flourish and a half bow he motioned the other boy in. "There's a reason why there's so many common areas. The rooms are really small."

And of course, no elevator. Jude being on the top floor meant that the journey wasn't quite over yet. Once on his floor, Jude let the dogs off the leashes and they nearly bowled the door open themselves. He had to wade through them to get to the water dishes and refill them, but eventually there were two pups taking up the entirety of his floor space. Their backs were taller than his bed.

There wasn't a whole lot to the room, actually. Chargers on the nightstand, a rug. The bed was unmade, and Jude sort of heaped the blankets back up into some kind of shape. There was some rather generic art on the walls of scientific illustrations. Honestly, Jude was just glad the closet was already closed, otherwise he would have felt like a total slob.

"Well? Uh. What do you think?" There was hardly room to open the door before it hit the bed. If the bed weren't' in the way, it looked possible for him to maybe touch both walls at once.

There was a moment of hesitation when considering going upstairs. Zaid almost told Jude not to worry when he seemed to stress about how small the place was, but then, they were already heading forward.

Jude never seemed to debate things for long. He was always someone keen on action, which was comforting. Zaid had more than enough of the social awkward genes to go around. He appreciated the take charge nature that came with the power copier. It kept him from being nervous and uncertain for much of their time together.

Zaid let the dogs lead the way, trying not to get awkwardly tangled in the stairwell. The disadvantage of having one leash for each of them was when both dogs wanted to get somewhere first. Zaid was nimble at least, and his bunny genes kept him from getting cornered or pulled into Jude more than once. Then they were at the right door. Zaid noticed it even before the dogs nosed it open, the scent much fainter to him than it would be to them, but still familiar.

"I mean, I grew up in Japan so maybe I'm just used to small spaces?" Zaid chuckled slightly as the dogs ran loose, rubbing the back of his head. "Although we don't always have pets for that reason. I can see why this was getting a bit cramped. Hopefully your boss isn't gone too much longer, as much as I love having them around." Zaid looked at the decor, feeling it was much neater than his own taste. The posters and appearance was simple compared to his more eclectic situation.

"It's nice, actually. My place isn't huge and we don't have the benefit of common areas even."

"Heck. I don't have pets for that reason."

He appreciated the the vote of confidence about his boss, though. "All of his responsibility is trickling down to me and it's not the first time. That actually means I know what I'm doing this time, ulike last time. It just sucks not knowing." Jude wasn't sure if he should close the door or not, but it did keep the dogs from roaming. So he did. The water wouldn't keep them occupied forever, but for now, they stayed off the bed.

The quality of everything in the room was apparent, despite the mess. Jude chose things with clean lines and classic taste. He would do without rather than bring home the wrong thing. He slipped off his shoes and dropped them into a sliding drawer beneath the bed before hopping on top of the lumpy covers. There wasn't any other place to sit so he motioned to the bed for Zaid, too.

"I think I'll start telling people why he's gone. Maybe he knocked up his girl or he's running for president or Texas." Or something even more outlandish. Those actually sounded almost feasible for the Ranger.

Revvie nosed her face into Jude's hand and he instinctively pet her.

"It's been fun having a taste of pet ownership, though. Do you have any pets?" That seemed weird somehow because of the bunny thing, he supposed.

Zaid glanced over when Jude motioned for a spot for him to sit, and had an awkward hesitation at the door when he glanced at his own shoes. If he took them off was he inviting himself to stay for too long? If he left them on it felt rude walking forward though, so he quickly slipped them off and left them next to the door and moved to sit next to Jude. He considered it may have been a bad idea only when he remembered the dogs. If someone decided to grab one he would have to make a break for it to save his sneakers.

"At least you're in a position to help now ? If one of the store owners vanished on me I'd just have to close shop and hope for the best. Even running the register during a rush is a heap of anxiety I prefer avoiding."

At the question of whether he had a pet Zaid chuckled slightly. "I can barely feed myself, I could never afford to own a pet too. Plus, these are the first dogs I've actually liked... Normally they see me as, well, prey. I got chased by one or two as a kid and I am just glad I never found out what would happen if they caught me." he shuddered. He felt a rush of fondness for the large canines though.

"Have you ever owned pets yourself? I mean, before living here,"

"Last time was worse, but at least we knew where Hunter went last time." He'd gone to the hospital. Jude huffed. "He'll be back. He probably just knocked up his lady and now she's trying to murder him so she doesn't have to meet the parents. They're weird like that." Jude waggled his feet as they dangled off the bed, he had two pairs of socks on and still had his coat and everything. Even he didn't look like he would stay long, somehow. No TV. No space. No real reason to linger, usually.

"Ghost had a bookstore cat. It used to come visit the apartment we had when I was younger. When the government took the bookstore, it probably ran away. We moved to the Mansion after that. That dumb cat peed in my drawers and stuff. It did not like me." In fact, he was pretty sure it was a mutant masquerading as a bookstore cat. No animal had ever previously or since contained that amount of malice, in his previous experience.

"No pets for me otherwise. I didn't stay long in one place." Or one identity. Revvie was the unabashed favorite. The goodest girl of the pair. Dammit's tongue lolled no less happily and Jude couldn't resist spreading the love around a bit more equally. She was good in her own way with her tail whapping strongly in Zaid's face's direction.

"They wouldn't be so bad if they weren't giants."

Zaid helped share the attention between the dogs. Honestly, he didn't know how Jude managed both of them. It was like having two very needy bear cubs wanting attention all the time. They were calm with extra love to go around though. Although, the fur must drive Jude crazy. Zaid wanted to look around for a lint roller just to confirm his suspicions one was probably necessary for his companion.

"Cat's certainly have a personality. I prefer the dogs I think." He looked around the tiny room, imagining trying to survive in the space with these two in particular. "I couldn't get away with a dog even now. I'm never home enough. Some days I feel like I live at the coffee shop."

Now that they were indoors, Zaid was feeling full and sleepy. It was warm and he stretched, yawning slightly. "I should get out of here before I loose the willpower to walk home." As if sensing he was thinking of leaving, Dammit laid a head on his lap and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Zaid laughed.

Dammit had opinions and was not afraid to make them known. "You said the "W" word." Walk. He'd said walk and despite the fact that they'd literally just gotten home from an hours-long excursion, Dammit was ready to go once again. Jude snorted and wiped his hands against one another to de-fur them before hopping back up to his feet.

"I'll w- escort you to the front door." He stuck his tongue out at Dammit and a waft of fur landed on it like a disgusting snowflake. Eugh. Definitely time to go. Jude scooped up Zaid's shoes and blocked the door so he could escape into the general area.

"I habd a goob time." He also had a napkin and was attempting to de-fur his tongue. Once he was done and Zaid had his shoes on, he walked with the bunny boy to the stairs and the front door. "Would you, er- maybe want to go again?"