Victor and Johnny

[x-ricochet.livejournal.com]

The roommates encounter some playful and not-so-playful competition while out celebrating Johnny's birthday.



Johnny and Victor were making quick work of the climbing wall and not just because of their abilities. The boys had been up and down it enough times to have a fairly good sense of where most of the artificial catches were and had earned both unsavory and visibly impressed gawks from other patrons with each impressive venture upward. But this was their last run. As fun as it was and as much energy as they still had pent up in their slim frames, both were beginning to get hungry and lunch was the next stop on the agenda. That just meant they needed to make the most of it.

They reached the top almost in unison, pulling themselves up onto the flat top of the structure. Johnny looked down from their perch, grinning as he tried to catch his breath and giving his companion a light glance. "Seven to six," he informed him, feigning a playful and injured pout, "You're supposed to let the birthday boy win, you know."

Vic grinned and leaned back, peeling the gloves from his hands. Mr. Beaubier had offered them to him that morning, suggesting that it might be good for Vic to know how to climb "the old fashioned way" with a gently wry smile. He dropped the gloves between them, using the time to catch his breath before answering. "I tried to," he teased, the wheeze behind his words giving away the lie. "Not my fault you're slow, Gallo. But if you want me to let you win, I'll tie my hands behind my back next time."

The white-haired boy laughed, giving Victor a slight nudge despite their precarious perch. They were both quite at ease up there. "Yeah, you sound like you were trying to go slow," Johnny quipped contently back, his own breath still in the process of evening and his mood obviously better than it had been in days. Even if they were in his hometown, the complications of his relationship with his father was far from his mind during this time with his friends.

"Hush," Vic protested, although he couldn't help but laugh. He leaned back on his hands, relaxed; this had been a lot of fun. "If it means that much to you, we can go again, but you have to explain to Mr. Beaubier why we're gonna be late for our lunch reservations. And I don't know if that's the wisest course of action, getting between that man and good food."

Johnny grinned and shook his head, "I'll save my vendetta for next time. Besides, even without the speedster metabolism thing, I'm pretty hungry myself." He took a moment to peer down at Jean-Paul and Lil, seated on a bench below and talking. The blond noticed him and waved. The teenager lit up and waved back and breathed out softly as he dropped his hand, "It's...been really nice spending the day with everyone."

Vic tried to ignore the flash of jealousy he felt at the way Johnny lit up at Lil's attention, with only moderate success. He almost forced a grin, but realized at the last second how fake it would look. Instead he gave his roommate a slight smile and said the most sincere thing he could think of. "Good. I'm really glad you're having a good time. Otherwise I might feel bad about beating you," he added, a slow grin spreading across his face.

If he noticed the jealousy his action had sparked, Johnny didn't make it obvious, though chances were good that it had simply evaded his attention entirely. His focus seemed to settle solely upon Victor's challenge and his fresh grin and all of the fleeting seriousness departed from his face, "Yeah, yeah. Bet I can beat you down!"

Vic pulled on his gloves with a competitive smirk. "It's on like Donkey Kong!"