Making Friends at 30

[Ethan Parks]

It was finally lunch time and Ethan had brought a home made sandwich with him. He was getting something to drink when he saw the new guy, Taylor something, at the corner of his eyes. Wasn't he Irish? Rumours were that he had been in the Irish army before coming over.

Ethan walked over to him and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey, wanna join me?" He asked, gesturing to an empty table he had eyed earlier. "I have an extra sandwich I could spare." He smiled a little apprehensively, not really sure what to expect.

[Taylor McCarthy]

The first week Taylor bad been back in the States had already proven itself tk be eventful. He supposed that shouldn't have come as much of a surprise given the history he had in the area. It was good to feel as though he had a place again and regardless of what ended up happening with Lucy (if anything), his brother, Jack, had welcomed him back with open arms. Granted he couldn't deny it had been a very Irish brotherly greeting but that was neither here nor there. All Taylor knew for sure was that a soldier's life in the private sector was far different than he could have imagined.

Walking through the Helios dining facility, tray in hand, Taylor stopped when he heard an unfamiliar voice addressing him. He eyed the guy for a moment then nodded, moving over to take a seat next to him. Taylor had been briefed in his teammates. He knew there was an m mutant division being pieced together within the private military corporation and he'd been given the pertinent information on each of them. "Ethan." He said with a nod as he extended a hand, shaking it firmly before sliding into a seat at the table. "I thought you were supposed to be a tough guy boxer." He said, his thick Irish accent weaving around the words. "Did your mum pack you lunch? Did she write you a little love note to read while you're out playing 'army man'?" The response could have been considered insulting if the Irish operator hadn't had a lopsided, almost goofy grin plastered in his face.

[Ethan Parks]

The younger mutant's thick accent was a little surprising to hear, having been so used to the American accent. The jab at his non-existent mom however, was not.

With a grin and a raised eyebrow. "No actually, yours did. With a lovely little note to come back tonight after she's tucked you into bed." Rolling his eyes, he pushed the extra sandwich over to the other man before tucking into his own.

"I heard army men were harsh. Didn't know you were 'yo mama' jokes harsh." He chuckled. Of course, he knew jokes like that were ridiculously common and insanely untrue. Which was a good thing since he didn't actually have a mother to begin with. Not that he would ever tell anyone that.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor hadn't quiet expected the response he got. Americans tended to be uptight and overly sensitive about so many things. He'd never been in the US military or had any experience with non-Irish soldiers but he didn't suspect the cultural susceptibility to butthurt to not extend its way to their military. Because of this, Taylor was pleasantly surprised when the American shot back with what was probably a much more scathing remark than he realized given the horrible fate Taylor's mother had suffered when he was still a kid.

A grin spread across Taylor's face as he moved to take a seat next to Ethan. "Right. If she was still alive I might be offended." Of course he wouldn't have. Few things truly offended Taylor and the rare topics that did would have resulted in a fist fight right there in the dining facility. "You're Ethan, yeah?" Taylor asked, glancing toward his teammate. He'd been given the briefing on the team he'd be on seeing as how the all mutant section of Helios was kind of a big deal. "Taylor." He extended a hand toward Ethan. "You probably guessed I'm the new guy."

[Ethan Parks]

If it weren't for the grin on Taylor's face, the jarring sentence that made its way from the younger man's lips would have made Ethan feel terrible about implying that he'd slept with his mother. As it were, it did give him pause. So the man also didn't have a mother. While Ethan didn't know where his adoptive parents were. And all he knew about his biological parents was that one was dead while the other was serving time in prison. Was.

When Taylor breezed over the whole exchange, Ethan nodded and grinned back in response. "Yeah. Not that hard to. We're kind of uh...a rare breed around here so it's not hard to keep tabs." He grabbed Taylor's hand and gave it a brief shake.

Ethan started on his sandwich.

"You went to BA, didn't you? Or did you go to the European academy? I hope you don't mind me being nosy."

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor nodded and gave a short chuckle. Ethan was right. Even Taylor wasn't so sure how well this all-mutant division of a private military corporation was going to go over but he knew, at the very least, it was going to be interesting. He supposed that was something he could hold onto with a certain badge of pride. It wasn't very often he came across people like them. Mutants weren't the most common folk in the world and when you added in their para-military status it put them in an even more exclusive club.

"For about a year, back in twenty-fourteen." Taylor said with a faint shrug. "I didn't make the rounds much." He shrugged a bit. "Unless you paid attention to the football team and even then I don't think I was around enough for anyone to remember." A light chuckle escaped as he glanced to Ethan. "Guessing you're an alum? What the hell brought you here?"

[Ethan Parks]

Ethan started working late in the year in 2015 so he wasn't entirely certain if they had even crossed paths. Either way, knowing he was from BA gave him a shallow sense of comfort.

He laughed at Taylor's question before responding to the first question. "I was." He nodded after swallowing his food. "I did coach the football team a spell but I can't remember seeing you. We must have missed each other." He shrugged. Thinking on why he was here, Ethan waved a dismissive hand. "An ad in the papers. It fit well with my personal training. Due to my uh...condition, I need constant activity and I get paid well to do something I already do on a daily basis. It's a sweet gig.

"What brought you here in the first place? You're Irish, no? They don't have a school closer to you?"

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor shrugged faintly. Given the chaotic nature of the time he'd spent at Bellefonte it was probably a good thing so few people remembered him. It wasn't as if he'd care to relive some of the more questionable decisions he'd made or the dubious company he kept. No, there were only a couple people he truly cared about and the less anyone else knew was probably the better.

"You're a nosy fucker, aren't you?" Taylor said, though the grin on his face never wavered. He issued a light chuckle and shook his head. Nothing was going to stop him from giving Ethan shit at every possible opportunity but it was obviously something the American was just going to have to deal with when it came to his new Irish born teammate. "I originally tracked my brother to the Academy." He said, not skipping a beat in spite of his harsh initial reaction to Ethan's words. It made sense even to him to want to get to know the people they'd be spending far too much time with in the coming days, months and years. "I went back home a year later for family reasons." Though it was apparent that was something Taylor didn't wish to get into just yet. "Joined the Army while I was out there. When I got out I caught wind Helios was hiring." He lifted his hands and gave a shrug. "And here I am."

[Ethan Parks]

Ethan laughed at Taylor's rhetorical question, holding up his forefinger and thumb close. "Just a tad." He responded with a small smirk. He didn't really need to know anything more about Taylor but it seemed the right thing to do, finding out everything there was to know about your teammate. Especially one who would be there practically twenty-four seven.

So there was a brother. That was random. But it was nice that Taylor would want to reach out to him. Ethan wanted to reach out to his but he didn't even know where to start. If Liam even knew he existed still, he probably would have forgotten about the adopted brother who almost caused his bones to wither that one time.

Family reasons was something Ethan didn't wish for Taylor to get into, especially since he now knew his mother had passed away. Obviously the older mutant wouldn't push but he wouldn't not be open to it if Taylor were to in fact divulge.

"Colourful." He nodded, he scratched his chin thoughtfully before finishing his first sandwich. "I feel odd welcoming you to a place you're just now coming back to but what the heck. Welcome back to Montana. Mighty glad to have you on board."