Racetrack & Sapphy

[Sapphy]

Sapphy cast the bar a glance before walking with Racetrack so he could have his cigar break. She smoothed out her skirt for a vain moment before turning to him with a smile.

"So what's new?" she asked. "And that doesn't count as one of my questions."

[Racetrack]

He chuckled, albeit a bit nervously. "Lots," he admitted. "Mostly on this side of the bridge. Sorry I haven't been around lately. We should do something soon." If, you know, I live long enough. "Other than that...Tristan still ain't mastered a poker face, me and Spot are on speaking terms, and he and Raven might not be by the end of the night." Business as usual. He lit a cigar. "What've you been up to?"

[Sapphy]

Since this didn't count as one of his questions, Sapphy left a lot out.

"Oh, you know, reading, working... Thinking about volunteering at the library."

[Racetrack]

((Connection is SO SLOW tonight, blargh! ))

Race nodded and blew a couple smoke rings. "Sounds like fun." He could tell she was holding back and gave her a knowing smile. "So who's going first tonight?"

[Sapphy]

"You can. I only really have one question anyway," she gave him a playful-menacing look.

[Racetrack]

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Hope it's a good one. You go first, then."

[Sapphy]

Sapphy kissed her teeth at Race, a little annoyed he turned it around back to her.

"Okay. I think you know what I'm gonna ask, though..." Sapphy sat on the bottom step of the staircase and looked up at Race. "So... What have you been sneaking around for? Kennedy says she's been seeing you in Brooklyn a lot."

[Racetrack]

"Kennedy's very observant," Race said with a bit of a grin, though it faded as he answered the question as casually as he possibly could. "Well, Spot decided to go to the Bronx and try and talk things out with 'em, see if we can avoid a war, so I said I'd go along and help out with that. I've kinda been staying here till we get things sorted out. Just temporary, though."

[Sapphy]

Sapphy looked up at him for a few silent moments, scrutinizing him. They were friends -- new friends, so it wasn't like she could say anything really meaningful about this. She couldn't control Racetrack, or anyone, for that matter.

"Well, that makes sense," she finally landed on. "You've got to do what you've got to do."

[Racetrack]

He nodded, glad she was satisfied with the answer, since he wasn't sure what else there was to say...except that this could get bad, really bad, but he'd already told her that.

"So, are you sure that's your only question? I mean, if that was the big one, you could use the others for all sorts of silly things. Favorite color, what I eat for breakfast, whether I was playing straight in that poker game...the possibilities are endless!"

[Sapphy]

"Nope. Your turn. I'll think of one later," Sapphy grinned, leaning back and resting her elbows on the staircase.

[Racetrack]

"All right." Race leaned on the step beside her, looking at her as he blew a thin trail of smoke sideways into the night. He liked how they could spend time like this, just talking and looking at each other head-on, and it somehow wasn't awkward. "What's your birth name?" He didn't say 'real name' because their nicknames were as real as anything--he'd been Racetrack for ten years now, and you had to call him Tony two or three times before he'd turn around.

[Sapphy]

Sapphy turned on the step to face him more head-on and outright glared at Racetrack.

"Low blow," she muttered. But she said it anyway. "Shaye Nolan... What's your middle name?"

[Racetrack]

"It's kinda nice," he said with a grin. Then blew smoke at her, even though his middle name wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. He was probably just sensitive after years of being called a mutt by the kids in his old neighborhood. "Sean."

[Sapphy]

"Anthony Sean Higgins," Sapphy said, trying it out softly. She smiled at him. "Fits you."