Leonard never notices the guy watching out for him, but he does start taking note of him a lot more. In the hallways between classes, in the rec room and the campus cafe, just generally existing in common areas for everyone on campus. He never speaks to him, though-- Leonard wouldn't have a clue what to say at all.
Eventually, the whole scene that day fades away from everyone's minds, taken over by the next random or crazy thing happening on campus. But Leonard is pretty sure he'll never forget it.
Mick still sees him around now and then. He doesn't approach and the guy doesn't approach him either. Whatever. It's not like they had a deep and meaningful bonding moment after the fight.
But then June rolls around and the campus starts gearing up for a month of Pride parardes, festivities and so on. Football players are conscripted as security and general keepers of the peace (unofficially of course). Dressed in bright rainbow t-shirts they walk the parade line and keep the zealots and skinheads at bay. Not a bad way to spend a cool afternoon and it counts towards the team's overall community service.
Leonard opted to stick around for a few summer courses instead of going home for the break; it was easier, and his grandparents were taking care of Lisa more in the summer, so he didn't have to worry as much, either.
But the courses didn't start for another week or so and there were Things going on in every section of campus he could possibly imagine. Pride, in this specific concept rather than the broader general meaning, is something he's never really delved into. He's open enough to realize it isn't going to mean eternal damnation if a person loves someone who happens to share the same reproductive organs; but he's indifferent enough to romance and relationships that the whole thing is just sort of lost on him.
But... he's bored and literally every person he knows seems to be involved in the festivities one way or another, or just really hyped about the fact they were happening at all. So, he finds himself wandering the campus aimlessly, just vaguely glancing at all the different booths and vendors set up at random. He sticks out among the sea of rainbows everywhere in nothing more than jeans that look like they may have seen better days and a plain black t-shirt. It's a choice, but it's one he's kind of regretting since it actually manages to draw more attention to him for not sporting something bright and colorful. The tactics he hides so close behind, to be as invisible and uninteresting as possible to the people are him are kind of backfiring on him today.
He could really use a drink right now.
Lost somewhere in his own head, he bumps into someone, "Sorry," a quick apology tumbles out of his mouth as a knee-jerk reaction before he even looks at who he ran into. "Oh." That may not have been the best choice word for reactions, here. "I mean, hi." Not much better, Leonard.
He's been run into a dozen times or more and really Mick isn't sure how it keeps happening. Not like he's a small guy and the rainbow tie dye is pretty damn hard to miss. So he turns towards the bump to make sure no one is falling and.. oh.
Snart. Leonard. The guy helping him make sense of Lit.
"Hey. I.. I didn't know you were sticking around for the summer."
"Yeah, figured taking a couple summer classes is better than going home." He never really detailed anything to Mick about his home life, but the hints were there to imply things if a person knew what to look for.
"They enlist you for security detail?" It's the best assumption, given Mick's size and stature, and the shirt that he's seen on at least a third of all the sports guys here today.
Leonard doesn't have to detail out his home life - Mick has put enough of the pieces together in the few times they've talked. He gets it, wanting to stay closer to campus. The Johnsons have been a godsend looking after Becky and giving him a safe and supportive home to return to, a place where he's allowed to strive for something better.
Of course Becky was the reason he was at the front lines of the parade. Social consciousness was huge at the forefront of his baby sister's mind and when she made it clear that people needed protecting so of course her big, strong brother could do it, naturally he signed on.
"Gotta do so much community service every year," he answers with a roll of his shoulder. "Seems like a good place to do it, keep out the bigots and the assholes looking to go bashing people."
"Yeah, pretty sure they need all the hands they can get for the fights that are bound to break out at some point." Because it was just inevitable. Things are changing, admittedly, but society as a whole is still not ready to just accept anyone that doesn't fit the cookie-cutout norm they've carved out for decades.
"So, uh," He shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he glances around. He's curled in on himself, arms folded across his chest--a subconscious move to protect himself--obviously sidestepping people that are paying less attention and nearly run him over. The unease isn't even something he's inherently aware of feeling, but it's there, burning under his skin, guiding his actions. "How long you gotta--" a dismissive wave if his hand, "patrol or...whatever?"
"Been a few already, but we've been able to keep the real assholes in line." And if there's one thing Mick Rory likes it's a good fight. Aside from football training, he loved to box and a good brawl was close enough. Society was shifting gradually and it was going to be people like Becky at the forefront, he was sure of it.
As Leonard shifts a bit, curling his arms around himself, Mick can't stop the way that he steps up, making himself a presence around the guy with the very definite aura of 'do not fuck with either of us'.
"Not really patrol. So far we've been workin' shifts. A couple hours on, then grab a beer at the tent, hour off to sober up and back again." A beat. "You.. you gonna hang around for a while?"
"Yeah, I'm not surprised," he admits. Though, if he were really honest, he's more surprised that it's not his buddies starting more of the fights. He hasn't known many accepting jocks in his experiences.
"Oh, um. I dunno. Maybe?" He shrugs a little. He hadn't really...planned on hanging around for a long time, but...maybe he should. "You due a break soon or something?'
Mick was the reason the team wasn't the ones starting fights. Becky had all but become the social conscience of the team and none of them were going to cross Mick Rory's firey little sister.. or Mick for that matter. So they kept the peace. Cut down on fights and kept the brave souls protesting and celebrating safe.
Not a bad feeling, if he were honest with himself.
"Yeah, I'm about due to circle over to the beer tent and get a drink. You wanna come?"
"Sure..." he tries to hide the slightly apprehensive note in his voice. There were bound to be others from Mick's team milling about in the tent and he didn't want to deal with that-- but he did want to hang out with Mick.
Mick turns and nudges another teammate to notify them he's taking his turn off. Leonard seems a little on edge and he isn't sure why. Leonard doesn't strike him as the kind of person who cared much about relationships in general whether they were gay, straight or otherwise.
"C'mon." His status as security gets him a free beer and he talks the vendor into a second one before handing it off to Leonard and guiding him back outside, a little away from the milling crowds. Maybe that'll help?
He follows Mick to the beer tent and accepts the one offered to him, glad he doesn't opt to stay immediately inside the tent.
He takes a long drink from his beer, glancing around at the people around them. They're a little isolated from the thick of it, and he can't help wondering if Mick did that on purpose.
"All of what?" The question tumbles dumbly out of his mouth before he considers it at all. Did he mean people, in general? Or specifically, the community roaming the streets in celebration? His answers were different, depending on how he meant it, so he thinks maybe the question isn't as dumb as it first felt, falling out of his mouth without thought.
Ok so it was a vague question, but Mick can pick up on something being wrong, just not what it is. He rolls a shoulder, gesturing back towards the beer tent they just vacated. "You don't seem to.. I dunno.. like crowds."
"Oh." He says, voice falling a little flat. "Yeah. I don't." He shrugs a little. Crowds like this meant never being able to completely look out for himself, it meant being easily outnumbered and an even easier time for someone to get the drop on him. And yeah, that's a paranoid way of looking at the world, but he learned those lessons at the hands of a drunk who never really wanted him and only used Leonard for what he could gain him. He comes by it honestly, at the very least, because there's few more paranoid than a crooked cop.
"I don't... really... have friends." Way to sound pathetic, Leonard. "I'm pretty big on the loner thing. But I wanted to come." He shrugs a little, "It's good to see that sometimes people can manage not to be complete assholes over something that doesn't even effect them."
The hate that surrounds anything outside of societal norms has always bothered him. Maybe not enough to do anything or be proactive about it, it would take a special push in the right direction for that to happen. Even being out of that house, Lewis still has him under his thumb. And he always will, until things line up right and the bastard can't use Lisa as leverage any more.
Mick listens, beer in hand as Leonard gives him another small peek into his life. It's been a waiting game but so far it's been worth it. He shrugs a little. "You're my friend," he offers, and it's the truth even if he isn't sure what Leonard might think of him beyond their once a week tutoring.
A smirk as he plucks at his brightly colored shirt. "Getting involved was my sister's idea. Hell she'd be here too if her foster family would've let her out of school. Becks is all for social justice and that shit."
He blinks and looks quizically at Mick. "I am?" If he sounds surprised, it's because he definitely is.
"Really? How old's your sister?" He doesn't ask about the foster family, even though he's curious. Nothing that suggests he is shows on his face at all.
"Yeah. Course you are," he answers, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
A small smile as he reaches for his wallet to show Leonard a picture tucked inside. "Seventeen and utter hell on wheels. She's gonna change the world one day, you watch." Smart and fierce and she's going to go so much farther than her lug of a brother.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2018-06-06 04:30 pm (UTC)Leonard never notices the guy watching out for him, but he does start taking note of him a lot more. In the hallways between classes, in the rec room and the campus cafe, just generally existing in common areas for everyone on campus. He never speaks to him, though-- Leonard wouldn't have a clue what to say at all.
Eventually, the whole scene that day fades away from everyone's minds, taken over by the next random or crazy thing happening on campus. But Leonard is pretty sure he'll never forget it.
I had to hunt down this picture just for this tag.
Date: 2018-06-06 05:41 pm (UTC)But then June rolls around and the campus starts gearing up for a month of Pride parardes, festivities and so on. Football players are conscripted as security and general keepers of the peace (unofficially of course). Dressed in bright rainbow t-shirts they walk the parade line and keep the zealots and skinheads at bay. Not a bad way to spend a cool afternoon and it counts towards the team's overall community service.
He just kinda wishes he had a beer to go with it.
Whatever.
He'll get one after.
this is the most beautiful thing omg
Date: 2018-06-06 09:38 pm (UTC)Leonard opted to stick around for a few summer courses instead of going home for the break; it was easier, and his grandparents were taking care of Lisa more in the summer, so he didn't have to worry as much, either.
But the courses didn't start for another week or so and there were Things going on in every section of campus he could possibly imagine. Pride, in this specific concept rather than the broader general meaning, is something he's never really delved into. He's open enough to realize it isn't going to mean eternal damnation if a person loves someone who happens to share the same reproductive organs; but he's indifferent enough to romance and relationships that the whole thing is just sort of lost on him.
But... he's bored and literally every person he knows seems to be involved in the festivities one way or another, or just really hyped about the fact they were happening at all. So, he finds himself wandering the campus aimlessly, just vaguely glancing at all the different booths and vendors set up at random. He sticks out among the sea of rainbows everywhere in nothing more than jeans that look like they may have seen better days and a plain black t-shirt. It's a choice, but it's one he's kind of regretting since it actually manages to draw more attention to him for not sporting something bright and colorful. The tactics he hides so close behind, to be as invisible and uninteresting as possible to the people are him are kind of backfiring on him today.
He could really use a drink right now.
Lost somewhere in his own head, he bumps into someone, "Sorry," a quick apology tumbles out of his mouth as a knee-jerk reaction before he even looks at who he ran into. "Oh." That may not have been the best choice word for reactions, here. "I mean, hi." Not much better, Leonard.
:) I was inspired
Date: 2018-06-06 10:34 pm (UTC)Snart.
Leonard.
The guy helping him make sense of Lit.
"Hey. I.. I didn't know you were sticking around for the summer."
Smooth opener there, Mick.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-06 11:17 pm (UTC)"Yeah, figured taking a couple summer classes is better than going home." He never really detailed anything to Mick about his home life, but the hints were there to imply things if a person knew what to look for.
"They enlist you for security detail?" It's the best assumption, given Mick's size and stature, and the shirt that he's seen on at least a third of all the sports guys here today.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 01:36 am (UTC)Of course Becky was the reason he was at the front lines of the parade. Social consciousness was huge at the forefront of his baby sister's mind and when she made it clear that people needed protecting so of course her big, strong brother could do it, naturally he signed on.
"Gotta do so much community service every year," he answers with a roll of his shoulder. "Seems like a good place to do it, keep out the bigots and the assholes looking to go bashing people."
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 01:59 am (UTC)"So, uh," He shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he glances around. He's curled in on himself, arms folded across his chest--a subconscious move to protect himself--obviously sidestepping people that are paying less attention and nearly run him over. The unease isn't even something he's inherently aware of feeling, but it's there, burning under his skin, guiding his actions. "How long you gotta--" a dismissive wave if his hand, "patrol or...whatever?"
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 02:03 am (UTC)As Leonard shifts a bit, curling his arms around himself, Mick can't stop the way that he steps up, making himself a presence around the guy with the very definite aura of 'do not fuck with either of us'.
"Not really patrol. So far we've been workin' shifts. A couple hours on, then grab a beer at the tent, hour off to sober up and back again." A beat. "You.. you gonna hang around for a while?"
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 02:24 am (UTC)"Oh, um. I dunno. Maybe?" He shrugs a little. He hadn't really...planned on hanging around for a long time, but...maybe he should. "You due a break soon or something?'
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 03:27 pm (UTC)Not a bad feeling, if he were honest with himself.
"Yeah, I'm about due to circle over to the beer tent and get a drink. You wanna come?"
no subject
Date: 2018-06-07 10:03 pm (UTC)"Sure..." he tries to hide the slightly apprehensive note in his voice. There were bound to be others from Mick's team milling about in the tent and he didn't want to deal with that-- but he did want to hang out with Mick.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-12 04:55 pm (UTC)"C'mon." His status as security gets him a free beer and he talks the vendor into a second one before handing it off to Leonard and guiding him back outside, a little away from the milling crowds. Maybe that'll help?
"You good with all this?"
no subject
Date: 2018-06-12 11:37 pm (UTC)He follows Mick to the beer tent and accepts the one offered to him, glad he doesn't opt to stay immediately inside the tent.
He takes a long drink from his beer, glancing around at the people around them. They're a little isolated from the thick of it, and he can't help wondering if Mick did that on purpose.
"All of what?" The question tumbles dumbly out of his mouth before he considers it at all. Did he mean people, in general? Or specifically, the community roaming the streets in celebration? His answers were different, depending on how he meant it, so he thinks maybe the question isn't as dumb as it first felt, falling out of his mouth without thought.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-13 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-06-13 10:28 pm (UTC)"Oh." He says, voice falling a little flat. "Yeah. I don't." He shrugs a little. Crowds like this meant never being able to completely look out for himself, it meant being easily outnumbered and an even easier time for someone to get the drop on him. And yeah, that's a paranoid way of looking at the world, but he learned those lessons at the hands of a drunk who never really wanted him and only used Leonard for what he could gain him. He comes by it honestly, at the very least, because there's few more paranoid than a crooked cop.
"I don't... really... have friends." Way to sound pathetic, Leonard. "I'm pretty big on the loner thing. But I wanted to come." He shrugs a little, "It's good to see that sometimes people can manage not to be complete assholes over something that doesn't even effect them."
The hate that surrounds anything outside of societal norms has always bothered him. Maybe not enough to do anything or be proactive about it, it would take a special push in the right direction for that to happen. Even being out of that house, Lewis still has him under his thumb. And he always will, until things line up right and the bastard can't use Lisa as leverage any more.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-14 03:41 pm (UTC)A smirk as he plucks at his brightly colored shirt. "Getting involved was my sister's idea. Hell she'd be here too if her foster family would've let her out of school. Becks is all for social justice and that shit."
no subject
Date: 2018-06-15 12:26 am (UTC)"Really? How old's your sister?" He doesn't ask about the foster family, even though he's curious. Nothing that suggests he is shows on his face at all.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-15 12:33 am (UTC)A small smile as he reaches for his wallet to show Leonard a picture tucked inside. "Seventeen and utter hell on wheels. She's gonna change the world one day, you watch." Smart and fierce and she's going to go so much farther than her lug of a brother.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-15 01:13 am (UTC)He couldn't have stopped the smile that rolls across his face if he wanted to. "Okay... good to know."
"Oh, wow..." he smiles a little, "she's way closer to you than Lisa is to me... my sister is still in elementary school." he chuckles softly.
no subject
Date: 2018-06-15 01:55 pm (UTC)He tucks the picture back away, "Yeah? Those are good years. The teenage ones are the ones you gotta watch out for."