sixwordstories | (no subject)

You got it. See you soon.

An hour later, Mark is in the lobby of the hotel Sam is staying in. He's in his normal jeans and a tee beneath a leather coat. His wool cap is secured atop his head. He's waiting close to the door for Sam to show up.

Sam stepped up out of the elevator with his guitar over his shoulder and a bag in hand, and a man walking behind him with a cart that had four other guitar cases on it. It was warm enough he was in just a button up shirt, sleeves rolled up and jeans. He still hadn't shaved.

"Hey," He called out to Mark with a smile on his face. "Please tell me you need to eat."

To go with his shaggy rock star look and keep anyone from really recognizing him Sam slipped on a pair of sunglasses as he got closer to the doors.

He looks very rock star-ish, whatever that is. But it is definitely a thing, and Sam is pretty much the epitome of it. Mark offers him a smile and walks with him out to parking where Mark has his Mustang parked. He unlocks the door for Sam and then goes around to the back to help the other man load the guitars into the trunk and the back seat, however they'll fit.

"There could definitely be eating. I know a little deli close by if you wanna stop there before or after the center. Whichever's easiest."

Seeing the car Sam can't help but grin and let out a low whistle. "And you suggested I could take a cab."

He put his bag and guitar into the back seat and helped wrangle the others guitars in. Then slipped the bell hop a tip and sent him on his way with a softly spoken 'thank you'.

"Feed me, please." He got in the car, still smirking just a bit. "I had a really good friend that was obsessed with Mustangs. Now I get why."

Mark smirks and kind of beams with a little bit of pride. He always loves it when people take note of his car. He's put so much work into it and really, it's kind of been the love of his life thus far. "Sam meet Steven. Steven, Sam. I'm sure the two of you will get along great."

After closing the trunk, he comes around to the driver side, puts the key into the ignition and the engine roars to life. He carefully pulls out of parking and into traffic. "They're pretty nice. Even the new ones are nice. But the classics just have that little... extra something. Plus, since I've fixed this one up, he's given me very few problems. Whereas a lot of older cars take a ton of upkeep."

Sam chuckles at that. "It is a pleasure Steven."

He's watching Mark as he starts the car and pulls out of the garage. His cheeks are a little pink and he can't help but to smirk. "I have an old beat of Volkswagon that I've had since I was seventeen. It's awful. You and Steven are lucky that you found each other."

More often than not Sam walked or took a cab, sometimes Janet and Frankie would send a car for them. Rarely did he drive the old car.

Edited 2012-06-06 19:10 (UTC)

"We are. This is one of the first cars I did by myself without my dads help. Bought him with my own money after getting my own place and... the rest is history. Match made in Heaven, I tell ya. Steven always agrees with me, no matter what."

He casts Sam a sideways, playful grin as he turns off of the busier main street onto a side street. "And he likes my singing... which is questionable, but... I'll roll with it."

"I'm jealous. Beck, Paul and Ulrik never taught me how to work on cars. Poetry, German, Guitar....baking." Sam laughed at that last bit.

"When you say things like that it only stirs my curiosity. I'll have you singing and playing guitar before the end of the day. If only to prove that you're full of shit."

"Ah, you can bake? That's a skill I'd like to have. I've been trying to teach myself how to cook. It doesn't always end so well. Luckily I don't have to contend with meats since I'm a vegetarian, but still... not my forte."

He keeps grinning, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel. "I do blow some hot air occasionally, I'll admit it. But you're a professional. And there's knowing what you're doing and not so much. I'm more the not so much. You'll see. I'll even buy you some rock star grade ear plugs for when you see."

Edited 2012-06-06 20:40 (UTC)

"Bread mostly. I love to cook. Love being in a good kitchen making a meal. Well, then I won't offer to make my special fluffy bunny stew then. Maybe eggplant Parmesan?" Bunny stew was a joke that had started when Grace first found out about what he was and wanted to know just what wolves ate. He had told her fluffy bunnies and had been pummeled with pillows for it.

"Yet you strike me as the type that has enough determination to be great at something you might not be so great at, yeah?" He chuckled. "Give me a year or two then maybe I can be considered a quasi-professional."

He shifted in his seat a little to better look at Mark. "So, what does a vegetarian eat? I've never known one."

"So it's official then. I'm not saying my kitchen is a good kitchen, but it is a kitchen and there should be food making in it. And when I say food making, I mean by you. And when I say by you, I mean not bunny stew."

Mark chuckles and shakes his head. "Well lets just say I put the capital 'T' in try. I'll give anything a go and give it a good effort, but sometimes I succeed and sometimes not so much. It's like I tell the kids at the shelter though, the word "can't" only applies if you've actually tried to do something and given it your best. Might as well walk what I talk, right?"

He pauses a moment, thinking over his diet. "Well there's a lot of soy products out there to replace the beef in some products, soy protein ground beef. And most garden burgers are made with soy protein. I eat lots of pasta and rice, veggies and fruit, plus beer. Don't forget the beer and coffee, pie. I really like pumpkin pie. Oh! Croissants. Give me a good buttery croissant and a cup of coffee any day and I'm good."

Once again he laughed hard. Sam hated how he laughed and immediately covered up his mouth. For being a generally quiet, shy sort of guy, his laughter was anything but. "Fine, I won't slaughter rabbits to feed you."

He gave a soft shrug of his shoulders. "Not many people do that, walk the talk."

Sam smiled at the thought of pumpkin pie. He couldn't recall the last time he had it. But, he could remember the smells of pie and it was enough to make his mouth water and his stomach growl. "My stomach thinks I slit my throat." He chuckled. "If given the chance I could eat an entire pumpkin pie, the best part of Thanksgiving hands down. And a cup of tea. Though today I might need coffee to keep me going." He sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy dark hair. "I got so busy putting stuff together to use teaching the kids I don't think I slept more than an hour or two."

A smile starts slow on Mark's lips, quickly growing as he looks back and forth between the street and Sam while the other covered his mouth while he laughed. It was kind of cute and curious at the same time.

"What was that? What are you doing?" He has to know now, obviously.

So now not only was he grinning like a teenaged boy he was blushing. "Laughing at myself. I do that a lot." He bit his lip to stop himself. "I honestly was just talking about bunny stew, who does that?"

Deep breath. "Okay I'm done. It's all business now.....one stipulation of me cooking is that you have to help."

"Apparently you do that. And I gotta say it's pretty damn cute." Mark laughs a bit and pulls his car over to the side of the road taking up a space just as another car is pulling out of it. That's the way much of New York was though, just a little too crowded.

He puts the car into park and kills the engine, looking over to Sam. "I really don't know if you want me to help. I might mess you up. I mean I can try but there could be messing up. And this is my disclaimer."

"I'm not cute." Sam muttered through smirking lips.

"There you go again. Can't sing. Can't play guitar. Going to ruin food. I'll take my chances."

"Hey, I said mediocre! Mediocre isn't can't." Mark laughs and gets out of the car. "Remember to lock the door. Classic cars don't and shouldn't ever have power locks."

"Sounds like can't to me." Sam smirked at him as he got out of the car and locked the door. Standing on the sidewalk near Mark he slid his sunglasses up off of his face, pushing his hair back. "One thing you are amazing it. Let's have it."

It's about a block to the deli, but Mark took the closest parking space he could. So they start walking down the sidewalk. "Fixing cars. And being a good friend. I'm loyal, and handy. So I'm A-plus at both of those. And... whoops that was two things. I guess I'm also an overachiever. Ohp... three things."

Sam doesn't mind the walk at all. From the looks of things it seems like a lot of people in the city get around on foot, or by cab. It was still strange to him how many cabs there were. Then again he was still pretty small town, even after a few years in LA. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?" He teased as he looked at Mark from the corner of his eye. While the walked he he reached out and gave the cap on Mark's head a little tug, but didn't pull it off. "You do realize it's summer? Or damn near it anyway."

Mark dips his head and smiles, his hand resting on the cap atop his head. "Yeah, but I don't like putting anyone off. My hair's still kind of short from my last check up and the scar is there and it's... bleh." He seems good-natured enough about it. Even if it is something he always hides from people. He's used to hiding it.

"Besides, I look good in head wear. And one of these days it's comin' back in style... hats." He laughs a bit. "Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part."

Sam pursed his lips and nodded his head. "I don't think anyone would be put off by that, I mean, you were protecting someone..... But, I get it." Walking around with the scars on his wrists got Sam a lot of looks, never good ones. He hated it. That's why there was watch on a chunky leather band on one wrist and a few hand-made looking bracelets on the other.

"I'll give you that, you can wear the hell out of a hat." Sam chuckled. "I've got too much hair for it, my head would be shaped like an alien if I put a cap on like that."

"You know what you would look good in? A fedora." Mark grins, looking sideways to Sam. And now that he's imagining Sam in a fedora, yeah... he's in a happy place. "Fedoras are sexy."

"Ah, a fedora. But, Justin Timberlake already brought sexy back in that hat." Sam caught Mark looking his way and immediately smirked, nervously tucking his hair behind his ear. "You're trouble." He said, still smiling.

Mark makes himself look away, eyeing the ground as they walk for a few moments. "I can be more good than trouble, I mean if I really put my mind to it... which I'm good at put my mind to things and accomplishing them so... hey there's a number four."

He motions to a door of a small deli shop and opens it for Sam.