damnfinecup | [for joe]

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[for joe]

It was more of a private celebration than they might've had any other time, and in some ways not really a celebration at all, but Dale had some pork chops on the barbecue and some cold drinks out on the porch and at least it was something. At least it was some time alone together to acknowledge the results of the election and possibly begin to try to get things back to normal again.

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"Only if it can be grilled," insisted Dale, turning over the chops. "I think we both remember what happened the last time I tried to put together a meal. I'm pretty sure the entire kitchen crew would thank me to not do it again."

"I ate it," Joe reminded him with a smile, just watching him cook. It was so fucking weird to him that in the midst of all the shit going on, he could sit here and be normal and feel normal. "I'd probably eat anything you cooked."

"That doesn't actually make it a good idea," said Dale. "I think I'll save my culinary experimentation for when we're alone." He, too, enjoyed the normalcy of the moment, after so many weeks of things being far from normal.

"I'm never gonna have a single fucking complaint about being alone with you," Joe informed Dale, still watching him, still with that faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I like being alone with you."

And it was nice that they actually were alone again, and not haunted by the presence that had pervaded their relationship for weeks.

"You only say that because I haven't made you start running with me in the mornings yet," said Dale.

"You might have to make me," Joe admitted, finally getting to his feet and wandering over to where Dale was standing, his arm sliding around him from behind. "I smoked this morning. But I figured it was better than fucking killing someone or drinking Logan's booze."

"There's been enough of both of the latter lately," said Dale, choosing not to comment on the cigarette. As long as it was a cigarette. There certainly were worse things, under the circumstances. "How's Logan?"

"He's shit," Joe said honestly, pressing a kiss to the side of Dale's face before he went back to sit down again. "We took his mattress back to his place, though, so at least he's... fuck, I dunno. Taking steps, I guess."

"He was a bit of a mess last time I saw him," said Dale, "but it seems to me that he's been in worse shape before. If you all stick by him I'm sure he'll get through this all right."

Joe shook his head at that, looking down briefly. "I'm not gonna go anywhere, but just having me around sure as shit isn't gonna fix him. I can only do so much." And he wished he could do more, but there was just nothing.

"You don't need to fix him," said Dale. "Not only do you not need to fix him, but you can't. This is something he needs to do for himself, Joe, and all you can do is be there."

"And if that's not enough?" Joe asked. "I'm there for him all the fucking time and he's still losing it, Dale. He's just fucking losing it."

"If he can't pull it together, then he needs help that neither you nor I can provide," said Dale, "but it might just be that he needs more time. And if he needs more than that, thankfully the island can provide."

Joe wasn't so sure the island could provide it, but he nodded anyway. "He tried to make me pick a side. Between him and Neil. I got kinda pissed at him at that."

"It's a very common strategy," said Dale, which he hope was of some consolation. "People who think so little of themselves seek validation that they are someone's conscious and deliberate choice. It's a strategy that often backfires."

"Yeah, I got kinda pissed at him," Joe admitted, rubbing his jaw. "Shit all got worked out in the end, but at first I was pretty fucking mad."

"Yes, I can certainly picture that, Joe," said Dale, clapping him on the shoulder. "Food's up. How about we try to enjoy a little celebration? There are any number of ways in which we've earned it lately."

"We definitely deserve a fucking break," Joe agreed with a smile, giving Dale a nod. "Celebration, break, whatever you wanna call it, I'm all for it right now, man."

"Well, I think being reelected to the Council deserves a celebration," said Dale. "And I think our continued survival on the island does as well. Though does a person really need a special occasion to have pork chops?"

"I'm gonna say no," Joe replied with a grin. "We sure as fuck don't need a reason for pork chops. But I feel like I should congratulate you now on being elected again, man."

"And you," said Dale, "though there was no doubt in my mind. Much as you're foul-mouthed and a terrible influence, you take good care of those kids. People notice these things."

"The fuck are you talking about? I'm a great fucking influence," Joe said with a smile, pushing to his feet again and pulling Dale away from the barbecue briefly. He noticeably made no argument against his language.

"Congratulations," he said with a grin, then leaned in to kiss Dale.

It was the sort of congratulations Dale could appreciate, and the sort that later on, after they'd finished eating, he might explore a little further.

"Well, as I am not the parent of any of the children on the island," said Dale, "I'll leave that particular judgment up to them."

"And if you were a parent?" Joe asked and kissed him again, just because he could. Although after that he let Dale get back to the food.

"Would you judge me?" he asked, still smiling. "Would you tell me my language wasn't appropriate for your precious babies?"

"I probably would do just that, Joe," said Dale. "At least, some of your more colorful expressions."

"Oh, fuck that. You realize if you had precious babies to raise, you'd be raising them with me and my colourful expressions," Joe pointed out with a snort of laughter. "So you'd just have to learn to deal with it."

"I think this might be a battle that I would win, Joe," insisted Dale, fairly confident in his position. "You'd take one look at those kids and do anything I asked."

For a moment Joe's mouth tightened, but he was trying not to grin and he shook his head. "Fuck you. This is what I get for you knowing me so damn well, isn't it? You win."

"I do like it when you say that, Joe, I really do," said Dale. "Would you like some more meat?"

"I'm always happy to receive more of your meat, Dale," Joe answered, his mouth twitching into a wide grin as he lifted his eyebrows and did his best impression of innocence.

Somehow Dale should have seen that one coming, knowing Joe, but it caught him by surprise. "Yes, I'll bet that you do," he said. "And in the meantime, would you like another pork chop?"

"You really gotta specify when you ask these things," Joe informed him, grinning as he accepted the second pork chop. "All over the island, people are gonna think you're offering them your meat."

"No, I think that's just you, Joe," said Dale. "Everyone else knows I say exactly what I mean."

"Yeah, well, everyone else is no fun," Joe decided, still grinning over at Dale. "Kinda nice, eh? Everything's settled down, nothing's trying to fucking kill us for once."

"I prefer it when nothing's trying to kill us," said Dale. Especially when that thing had his own face. "I'd like to think it'll last a little while this time. I think we deserve a nice and easy time on the Council." If such a thing was even possible.

"You think that's really gonna happen?" Joe asked, looking amused as he lifted his eyebrows. "Not gonna happen, especially now that you said that, man."

"I don't think my saying it influenced the island's plans one way or the other," said Dale. "The island will do what the island will do."

"Now you're just tempting fate left, right and fucking centre," Joe said, shaking his head in amusement. "We're screwed. There's gonna be dinosaurs coming out of our fucking ears. Maybe even literally."

"And there would have been whether I said anything or not," said Dale. "The island can't listen to every one of us. We'd have constant mayhem if it did."

"I'm hoping the dinosaurs don't actually come out our fucking ears," Joe decided, relaxing back in his chair as he gave a soft sigh.

"I think the dinosaurs are going to stay where they're meant to stay, for now at least," said Dale, finally finishing eating. "After all, the island's already pulled that one."

"You done?" Joe asked, grinning over at Dale, deciding that he was done talking about dinosaurs. "I'm thinking maybe we should go inside. Do some reading or something."

"Reading or something," Dale echoed him, doing a bit of cursory cleaning up. "That always sounds like a good idea to me."

"Yeah, that's what you always say," Joe agreed with a laugh, helping him clean up a bit before he hooked his fingers in the belt of Dale's pants and tried to drag him back toward the hut.

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