A Second Awakening (Linked Universe AU)

The Bistro

Legend inhaled the hoppy scent of the foam from the top of his beer before drinking deeply from the frosty mug. To get his rambunctious companions out of Smith's hair he suggested that they go get some lunch while they waited for the kids to get out of school. They wound up at a quaint little bistro with a lovely little patio shaded by flowering trees. Petals drifted around them as they ate their sandwiches and filled the air with a delicate floral fragrance in the warm sunshine.

He sighed in contentment and wiped his foamy mustache from his lip and turned to his companions with a smile. Wild looked back at him with a wide grin, briefly pounded a fist against his chest and let out a loud belch which elicited a snort and then a louder belch from Wind.

Legend shook his head and laughed.

"So how was the big wide blue?" Wild asked Wind about his latest Naval deployment, causing the younger man to roll his eyes.

"Oooooh same ol' same ol' Big n' blue' n' wet.... Cold mostly. Cept when it's not. I do like the sky at night though... you will Never see so many stars as out on the ocean. Its nice. I like night watch.. How about you? You just got back from your own deployment, yeah? Hows....the 'not ocean'?

"hahaha Well.... Kind of the opposide. Brown and Dry.... and Hot. Very hot. We got to build some houses though, that part was cool... A lot of other stuff happened that was...not so cool. But, I can't really talk about that." He grimaced and returned to nursing his beer.

Wind nodded sympathetically, "I understand. The men exchanged and then wild patted his cousin on the shoulder and raised his mug. "To brighter days ahead!"

The trio all clinked their glasses together.

Soon the topic of conversation shifted to Legend and his art. The boys were flabbergasted at his talents, and each gave him hearty congratulations on the upcoming exhibit in The Gallery tonight.

"Thank you.." Legend laughed feeling the slight flush of warmth from the beer buzz touching his head. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and relishing the relaxed atmosphere. "I'm looking forward to it myself.

"Where do you get your inspiration from?" Wind gushed. "It's like... I don't know, your paintings pull from something deeper than the world, you know?" He sipped his beer and was quiet for a moment. "You were the reason I wanted to join the Navy in the first place, did you know?"

"What?" Legend looked up surprised.

"Well...yeah! Remember when You took me sailing that time for my 13th birthday? I fell in love with the ocean that day... and then that Christmas when you gave me that painting of that seafaring Hero? I hung it in my room and would fall asleep looking at it every night and dream of grand adventures on this giant ocean.. It was like a rope tugging at my psyche. I enlisted as soon as I was old enough."

Wild nodded. "I remember... Your Gram had a FIT." They both laughed.

"I still think it was the best decision I've ever made... I love the sea. Everything about her... Someday? When I get out? I'm going to buy a houseboat." Wind looked dreamily up at the sky as his mind wandered to his undoubtedly bright future. The soft sea breeze ruffled his hair and carried the scent of salt and sunshine. He looked at peace.

Wild piped up next "I actually still have the one you gave me too.." He smiled at Legend with soft eyes. "The knight? It hangs over the fireplace. I get comments on it all the time. It's an inspiring piece... Its like he embodies everything that a Marine should be... Duty, Honor...Courage. I Love it. It might sound silly.... but whenever I'm in a bad place I always try to imagine what He might do and try to do that. He just seems like the kind of guy who really has his shit together, you know?"

Legend didn't know what to say so he just smiled and nodded from the rim of his drink. It seemed like in some small way he, through his art, had tapped into their deepest yearnings and made their lives better, at least in some small way.

After lunch, the trio decided to walk around the cozy little downtown area for a while to kill time. They window shopped, chatted, and laughed. Legend spied a little florist shop and bought Marin some flowers to take home. They eventually made their way down to the shore itself and just walked along the beach together. Wild pulled some bread from his take-out box and tossed it to the gulls causing an absolute storm of birds to erupt around them. They laughed through it all, trying to not get nipped.

"You idiot!" Wind laughed, batting away a seagull. "You had to know that would happen!"

"I'm sorry! They looked hungry! They were looking at me!"

"They are ALWAYS hungry.. Rats of the sea, I swear!"

"I don't know.." said Legend, smiling brushing a feather from his shoulder as the flock made of with their prize leaving them in relative peace. "I kinda like sea birds.."

All in all, it was a nice little early afternoon jaunt.