backyardbbq | Crybadger continued

[He was infuriating. He was rude. He was absolutely intolerable.

He also happened to be absolutely right.

As soon as Luca stepped outside that building, he was instantly met with the reality that he had absolutely no idea what the future was like. He had thought he would be able to figure it out, he had managed things like 'electric lights' and 'cell phones' while in that game, but this was different. This wasn't a closed location with just a few people, this was a city of millions with more innovation in one city block than in the entire country Luca had grown up in.

Don't mind him he is just at a loss for words. His anger had instantly vaporized the moment he had seen the sea of cars moving along the road.]

[Some time later, Cabanela himself will leave the coliseum at a much more leisurely trot. He's finished everything he had to do in there, he's fairly sure, so it's time for him to go back home. ...Well, after getting a good night's sleep in a hotel, anyway. Taking a plane anywhere is not an option for him right now.

He does spot Luca from the corner of his eye, but opts to just keep walking. What happens to the man from here on out is none of his business, apparently.]

[Even if Cabanela leaves without saying anything to Luca, tgat doesn't mean Luca doesn't see him. And for a moment, Luca starts to reach out to call for Cabanela, but he stops himself. No, he won't ask for help, he can do this on his own.

That doesn't mean he won't be going a different way, though. Cabanela has to go to this 'airport' as well, so Luca decides to follow him discreetly. If they have to go to the same place, then Luca can find out where to go without directly asking. ]

[It doesn't take all too long for Cabanela to realize he's being followed. He could call Luca out on it, but he figures he might as well shield some of the man's pride and pretend to be oblivious to it. A brisk walk and some directions from a not-entirely-kind stranger later, he's found the nearest hotel. It's extremely early in the morning (the game ended with a midnight ousting, after all) and the guy behind the counter is being a little cross about booking a room without a creditcard to charge, but a bit of persuasive talking, a flash of his badge and a few wads of cash later, Cabanela's got himself a room key. ...And by key we mean card, of course, because what kind of hotel still works with keys nowadays?

Good luck dealing with that guy yourself, Luca. If you need him, he'll be in his room. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out which one, because he repeated the number very loudly when he accepted his key card.]

[Fun fact: All of Luca's ID papers, excluding the passport tgat protoshepard gave everyone, looks like it belongs in a museum. And Luca has no idea what a credit card is. Nor does he understand how email works, when the front desk guy asks for his.

And he also tries to haggle over the price of the room too, because inflation over 200 years still trips him up.

So, Luca ends up turned out very quickly. It takes him more than an hour before he finally gets over his own stubbornness and goes up to Cabanela's room.

He doesn't bother knocking, though. Instead, he uses his chalk on the door and "convinces" the door handle wants to open itself. He had been planning to pick the lock, but one look at the key card locks tells him it is pointless.

So. Yeah. About an hour and a half after Cabanela got the room, Luca will be breaking in to sleep in a corner somewhere. ]

[There probably isn't a single world out there in which breaking into a Special Investigations inspector's room is a good idea. Lucky for Luca (or maybe not so?), Cabanela is showering. He had waited a while to see if Luca would get over himself and come knocking, but apparently not. Then he spent about half an hour attempting to sleep, only to find himself unable despite the exhaustion. Finally, he decided to take advantage of the fact that he has a bathroom all to himself again, with all the necessities included.

At last, a razor. Now he can shave and stop feeling like half a homeless person. Careful, Luca, he's almost done in there.]

[See, he had been hoping that Cabanela would be sleeping already, so they could avoid any talking. And if Luca slept by the door, then he could have hurried out once Cabanela had woken up.

When he hears the water running and sees the bed empty, Luca is about to turn and leave. But the door shuts behind him before he can do so, and it is rather loud too. Welp.

Cringing, Luca books it for the window. He slides the window open, and he moves to jump out, only to find that there is a strange metal mesh of some sort covering the opening. Whatever it is for, Luca won't be getting out that way.

Mistakes, they have been made.]

[So there Cabanela was, minding his own business in the shower when he hears the door slam. That was way too close by to be coming from a neighboring room. Naturally, he does what any cop would do. He hops out the shower, hastily puts his pants on (NO TIME FOR UNDERWEAR!!!) despite being soaking wet and grabs his gun from where he left it near the sink. Then he virtually kicks the bathroom door open in his haste to catch the would-be burglar.

SAY HELLO TO HIS LITTLE FRIEND- ..... Goddammit Luca.]

Y-you-! What are you- [The "what" is obvious. The "why" is probably a better question.]

[If Luca weren't in danger of being shot, he might have appreciated that a bit more.

But for now, Luca freezes in place, only moving to slowly turn and look to Cabanela. Welp. he's been caught.]

Ah... Non parlo Inglese?

[Not that he expects Cabanela to believe that he doesn't speak English, but maybe it will make him laugh? And it will stall for time while Luca tries to think of a way to explain all of this.]

[For a few seconds, he says nothing, looking completely dumbstruck. Then he finally cracks a smile and lowers the gun.]

You expect me to beliiieve that, baby?

[That is a good sign yes. Luca chances a wary smile.]

Not particularly, no.

[He still needs a reason for breaking into Cabanela's room, though.]

They, ah. All of the rooms were full.

[Blatant lies.]

[Yup, that is one heck of an untruth, right there. It doesn't even explain the biggest problem here.]

So you thought you could use miiine? Around here, it's common courtesy to knock and wait for someone to open the door. [He's not mad, of course. Just... wow.]

Ah, well.

I did not want to wake you.

[To avoid the conversation entirely, but look how well that turned out. ]

Though it seems you are too damp to have been sleeping.

[That excuse isn't making Luca look any better. Who even breaks into a person's hotel room with the hope that they won't wake up?]

Sooo sorry to disappoint, baby. [Excuse him for a sec, he needs to step back into the bathroom to put his gun away and grab a towel.]

Well, you look very tired.

[Which is true, and also part of why Luca hadn't wanted to wake him.

He will jeep talking while Cabanela does his thing, too.]

...I am tired too. And the door was open.

[Also true, technically. The door had opened itself, after all. ]

Was it reaaally? [It wasn't. He knows it wasn't, because he spent some time waiting for Luca. Even if he'd made the mistake of not closing it, he would've noticed immediately.

Also he's going to close that bathroom door now because he's going commando under his pants and that needs to be rectified the moment he's dried himself off. Thank god he left all his clothes beside the shower.]

[Instead of answering, Luca turns back to the screen, inspecting it to see if he can pry it off. Running away is one of his standbys, and it would serve him well right now.

But he can't seem to find an edge or a latch, and by the time he would have drawn an array to magic it away Cabanela would have been done in tthe bathroom.

Sighing in frustration, Luca gives up and settles into the big lumpy armchair that pretty much every hotel room has. This would be so much easier if Luca could just say 'you were right, I need help', but pride.

By the time Cabanela exits the bathroom, he will be able to find Luca in the chair, head tilted back and his face covered with his hands. His mutterings about 'this is all so stupid' and 'it can't be this difficult' are very audible, though. ]

Why can't it just- Ah.

[He will stop and peer at Cabanela from under the edge of his hands when he realizes Cabanela is done in the bathroom.]

[And here he is, in all his glory. This time he's clad in his underpants and black shirt, nothing else. He still fully intends to go to bed, so there's really no point in getting dressed further. His damp hair is rather messy from being ruffled by the towel and some stray locks are clinging to his forehead.

He drops some of his most prized belongings, such as gun, pocketwatch and money on the nightstand. Luca's a nice guy, but that doesn't change that he broke into a hotel room and lied about it. Cabanela would rather not get robbed, so he's keeping these things close.]

Sooo, are you staying for the night?

[That does make Luca frown a bit. Cabanelaplz 2 be wearing actual clothes kthnx]

If you don't intend on kicking me out for being strange.

[Swallow your pride, Luca. Just admit the truth instead of being stuck up about it.]

I, ah. suppose what I said before was not accurate.

They did not like my ID.

[Which isn't really that close to admitting he needs help, but. It's getting there.]

[These are actual clothes, geez. Cabanela's seen much worse things during his years at the police academy. Craaaazy times in the dorms. And really, is this worse than their shower encounter in the game? He doubts it.]

That's quiiite a difference from "all the rooms were full", baby. Better choose your words with a little more care, next time. [Buuut he's still not kicking Luca out. In fact, he's getting into bed himself.]

[That was also a very different situation too, where Luca had been hoping for a different result.

He at least has enough presence of mind to look sheepish at that comment, though. ]

Yes, of course.

[ If there is only one bed, Luca will try his best to get comfortable in the chair. If there are two, though, he will gladly take over the other one. ]

[Alas, there's only one bed. It's big enough for two people, but Cabanela knows better than to make any kind of offers. He doesn't want Luca to get the wrong idea- Not after everything that's happened.]

Feel free to use the shower if you neeed it. [Also, heads up because one of the spare pillows is being tossed towards Luca's lap.]

[Maybe someday soon, when Luca is done being upset over everything. Even if he has mixed feelings right now, he still thinks Cabanela is very attractive. And he's going on five days without sharing a bed with someone, which is a long time for him. So. Maybe someday soon, but not yet.

He does need a shower, but he will save that for when he wakes up. Which isn't far off, truthfully, because even with the pillow that chair is very uncomfortable and he tosses and turns for several hours, alternating between asleep and awake, before he finally gives up and goes to shower too.

So yes, long shower get. And if Cabanela isn't up yet, then Luca's eventual yelp of surprise as he stumbles out of the bathroom in a panic (fully dressed after his shower, because that's how he is ) might do the trick.]

[He's not sure what did it; either it was the shower he himself took or it's the reassurance that Luca is safe and not wandering the streets at night. Either way, Cabanela had dozed off within three minutes and was out like a light. Bruce had told him not to sleep for a crazy amount of time and instead just wake up every so often for a break. Cabanela had had some intent to follow that advice, but only if he could actually bring himself to rouse from slumber.

'Lo and behold, Luca's yelp does just that. He wakes with a start and sits up, blurry gaze shooting across the room. What is happen]

What?!

It- There is-

[There is a loud noise coming from the bathroom. Specifically, it's the exhaust fan, which Luca had inadvertently turned on while messing around with the light switches.

Luca has plastered himself to the wall opposite of the bathroom door, and he is pointing frantically at it.]

I don't know what it is, but something is broken!

[Not "I broke something," but "something is broken".]

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