Luke used the squeaky manual handle to roll up the window to his El Camino. He wiped a drop of sweat from his brow with a small sigh before pulling the keys from the ignition. He winced at the creaking when he tossed the door open before shutting it with his hip.

It was a hot day, even though the sun was nearly down. He left his button up in the car, opting for a tank top as he grabbed at the door to The Hard Deck. He paid no mind to the patrons of the joint, instead making his way to the side of the bar.

"What can I do for you, Luke?" Penny smiled at the sight of him, though it seemed out of pity due to the sorry state he arrived in.

"Just be sure to send a few beers down my way." He nodded to a less crowded area in the corner of the room near the pool tables.

"Sure thing. Here's one to start you off." She moved to set a bottle in front of him. He smiled appreciatively, grabbing at the top with two fingers on either side of the cap before heading away from the noise. As we walked, he sighed gratefully at the feeling of the cold drink at his side, bumping along his thigh as he walked.

He had been on his second beer when the familiar hooting of Fanboy caused him to look up. He watched the group for a moment, noticing Phoenix, Rooster, and Payback amongst the group with Coyote, Yale, and Hangman nearby. They hadn't seemed to have been there long. Luke decidedly didn't join in on the fun they were seemingly having. He didn't feel like it, still chocked full of disappointment after how poorly he felt he did at training.

His eyes darted upward from the drink clutched in his hands at the shift of movement up ahead of him. Rooster, who previously was leaning up against the divider between the tables and the dartboards, was headed his way.

Luke slumped further into his seat, avoiding eye contact while the other fluidly slid it the booth across from him.

"Hey, Pretty." He greeted, crossing his arms across his chest and resting them on the tabletop.

Luke merely nodded his head in greeting, giving a meager smile.Bradley cleared his throat.
"Sorry about earlier today." He began.

"Don't apologize. Hangman was being an ass." Luke interjected, sitting up.

"So was I." Rooster elaborated, leaning forward in his seat. "You were helping me out. I didn't see that and I snapped. So, I'm sorry."

"You were angry, perfectly underst—"

"Just accept the damn apology, Kazansky." Rooster huffed with a half-smile, shaking his head incredulously.

"Alright," Luke raised his hands in the air in mock surrender with a light laugh. They fell into a comfortable silence afterward, with Luke fidgeting slightly in his seat every few moments.

"So the cat's outta the bag, huh?" Rooster asked with grimace-like smile.

"Guess so." Luke smiled in sympathy, rubbing at the palm of his hand with the other. Rooster only hummed lightly in reply, eyeing Luke's nervous habit.

"Did you want it to be?" Luke asked after a moment.

Rooster shifted in his seat, tilting his head back in thought. "I guess." He shrugged.
"Never really tried to hide it. I just never actively told anyone about it."

"Same thing to some." Luke supplied cryptically.

"How about to you?" Rooster asked.

"What about me?"

"Did you wish people didn't know?" Bradley repositioned to lean more comfortably in his seat.

"Um," Luke scratched at the back of his head lightly before dropping his hand and looking back at him. "No. Not really. I'll always get a few digs about it here and there, but that's life."

Rooster hummed again.

"Besides, I'm proud of my old man." Luke murmured, watching the other.

Rooster looked up from where he stared listlessly at the grain of the wooden tabletop, eyes locking with Luke's own.
"Yeah," He began quietly. "Yeah, me too."

"Speaking of," Luke spoke again. "He noticed a bottle of whiskey missing from the cabinet."

"Oh, shit!" Bradley laughed, raising a hand to cover his mouth as he leaned over the table, shoulders shaking.

"Yeah, whether it was your or not, I threw Coyote under the bus." Luke smirked.

"Fair assumption. I'd buzz in the same answer." Rooster matched his friend's expression as they watched each other for in silence. Luke noticed Phoenix watching them, he looked toward her to which she gave a comically large frown.

"I think your buddies miss you." He nodded toward the nearby pool tables.

Rooster furrowed his brow before turning in his seat to look behind him. He gave her a large gestured "thumbs down" followed by an aggressive shake of his head.

Phoenix raised her lips in mock distaste, rolling her eyes with a huff of laughter, before turning to face Coyote and rekindle their previous conversation.

"You can join them." Luke said after Rooster turned back around to face him.

"You kidding? You're the perfect excuse to stay away from Hangman for the rest of the night." The other man joked with a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, alright." Luke rolled his eyes. "But seriously, you can leave me if you want." He immediately offered up.

"Cut it out with the self deprecation, Pretty Boy." Rooster glared lightly, before turning a little serious. "Why you over here by yourself anyway?"

"Just some after training blues." Luke shrugged noncommittally.

"Hey, nobody did well today. You know that." Rooster prodded, craning his neck downward to eye the man.

"Says you." Luke smirked, shaking his head lightly.

"Now I'm for sure not leaving you, you mopey bastard." Rooster made himself comfortable, leaning his head backward slightly to rest on the back of his seat.

"Am I not allowed to throw myself a pity party?" Luke questioned in mock seriousness, tilting his head.

"You can." Rooster smiled easily. "You just won't get any from me."

"All right, thanks." Luke muttered, accompanied by a fake frown. Rooster only laughed quietly.

"What are those?" He spoke up after a moment of silence, sitting up and grabbing at Luke's beer, sliding it toward himself to claim as his own.

"What's what?" Luke asked, smirking at the other's antics.

"These." Rooster leaned forward to grab at the man's wrist, rubbing a thumb along the three tally marks just at the beginning of his radius.

"Oh, you know the Iceman, um, Otzi?" Luke murmured in question. Rooster gave a curt nod of recognition, letting go of his wrist and leaning back into his seat.

"He had tattoos like this. Thought I'd get something like it. Something for my dad."

Rooster nodded his head, eyes showing fond appreciation for a few moments.
"Not sure a goose on my arm would be very flattering." He shrugged after a moment, causing Luke to let out a loud laugh.

"Yeah, maybe not." He smiled before his phone pinged loudly at his side.
"Sorry," He muttered, digging it out of his back pocket.

"No worries," Rooster reassured, running a hand through his hair as he eyed the other's phone.

Luke looked at a text, brows furrowing for a moment in thought before he quickly typed out a reply.

"Anything serious?" Bradley asked quietly.

"Oh, no, we're good." Luke smiled as he clicked off his phone, setting it on the table face down. "Just Maverick asking if my dad's up. Guess he's not answering his texts in enough time." He joked as Penny moved to set a new beer beside him with soft smile.

"You and Maverick close?" Rooster questioned, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah," Luke shrugged. "He's like an uncle you see every once in a while." He chuckled, smile on his face.

Rooster hummed evasively, shrugging his shoulders in return.

His phone buzzed again, causing him to tap the screen. He pushed it toward the middle of the table in invitation, causing both of them to lean forward to look down at it.

A poorly made Snapchat filter of a bodybuilder with a grainy photo of Luke's face plastered on it was sent via Phoenix's phone. It was easily deduced that she took it just moments ago by zooming in on his face form afar. Both looked cranes their necks to look back at her while she quickly attempted to make herself look busy, as if she wasn't previously staring at them. Luke rolled his eyes, turning to look back at Rooster, but not accounting for the now short distance between their faces.

The tip of his nose brushed up against Bradley's own. Luke looked into his eyes, the other man doing much the same. He hesitated for a moment before moving to lean back into his seat with a breathy laugh. He looked down at his hands, fidgeting quietly so as not to further embarrass himself by looking at the other's reaction.

Rooster watched as Luke moved away, reluctantly doing the same. He swallowed nervously as he tried to decipher Luke's emotions. As he watched the other man anxiously wringing his hands together, Rooster allowed his face to adorn a lopsided smile.