(DNA is a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information. Did you take science at school or did you only get God-science????)
Unable to word things right over text, Castiel simply rang the number and hoped that Raphael would actually pick up. He waited and, once he was sure Raphael was on the other end of the line, he said what he had to say, trying to sound as neutral as he possibly could. "He is in a medically induced coma. There is swelling in the brain. If he does not improve soon, they will wake him up for us to say goodbye and then that is it."
Raphael wasn't sure what else to say. He liked Gabriel okay, for the most part. He wasn't super close with him but he was the least off-putting of his brothers. A total dumbass and always pointed out how weak he was and how he needed to hit the gym but, well, good deep down. "Right. Well. Fuck, I guess I'm going." He let out a low whistle. "So about that new car...?"
"I cannot afford to buy you a new car. Also, you don't have a license. Do you?" Castiel sounded a little confused by that request, but he did answer it diligently and with a serious voice. "My friend Matteo. He is my best friend. We share a profound bond. He has a little brother that attends your university."
And Matteo had assured him that Sam was going to go on this road trip for him. Apparently 'it was easy to guilt little brothers'. Castiel was less convinced of that, talking to Raphael.
"So at this vulnerable moment in my life, I have to get in a car with a stranger and drive to -- where even is he?" It didn't seem like a lot of fun and he had no idea what weirdo he'd be stuck in a car with. He exhaled in annoyance, he really didn't need this right now. He'd have to book some days off work and cancel his balloon animal course. He was so excited to learn how to make advanced animals.
"You could instead, you know, lease me a car. We can lie about the license, no one even checks." Or, at least, he assumed as much.
"They need to register your license to lease you a car. Anyway. Sam is a very responsible driver and he is nice and has good hygiene. Matty says he is a hippie, I don't know what that means." Here he was, simply sharing what information he had, with no context.
"I will give him your number and you can make arrangements. We are in New York. I am at the hospital."
"Good hygiene and a hippie? Dude. There's some mismatching there." Was he really going to do that. Go to New York, watch Gabriel die or something? He wasn't sure he wanted to. He didn't like the idea of such a real moment but he also didn't know how he'd feel is Gabriel did die. "I-- I'll think about it, I'll see if I can get the time off work and we'll see. Yeah?"
That was all he could promise right now as he felt his stomach fluttering at the idea. "Is, you know, is Luci gonna be there? Mikey? The whole gang?"
"I am trying to get them to come. Lucifer called me just to tell me that he is leaving me on read. I think that means he will show up, he put effort into it." Castiel was trying to estimate the likelihood of his brothers showing up. He wasn't sure how much he could count on any of them. "I haven't been able to reach Michael yet. Maybe you would have more luck."
Castiel was silent for a moment, then, as Matty gestured, he tried the guilt approach. "It is difficult. I would like you here. I changed your diapers."
Michael was a tough case. He had no idea how to approach that one, especially if he was ignoring Castiel. For Raphael, Lucifer was the cool one, the one he had adored and loved, the one he wanted to be with. Then two months of being around him swiftly taught him that his brother was an asshole and all of his friends were dicks. So that had been something. Michael was harder to connect to and his judgemental response to him moving in with Lucifer had kind of spurn Raphael. It was all very difficult. Families were.
"Ew." Why did he keep being gross today? "Well... I was a baby, champ. I couldn't help it. Look, I'll -- I'll think about it."
"Talk about the stupid gameboy story. More personal. Go for the heart." Matty whispered covertly. As best he could.
"Yes. Matty is here." When Matty shook his head very emphatically, Castiel corrected himself by lying badly. "No, wait. Matty is not here. That's just a lamp. I was mistaken."
There, he'd covered that up nicely. And now he could swiftly move on to the gameboy story. "I bought you a gameboy." That was kind of the whole story, but Matty kept gesturing. "I saved up all my money and I did it because you liked games a lot. I had to help you hide it."
"Is he teaching you how to manipulate? Hot damn, Cas. You've been corrupted." Profound bond. Heh. Must be fucking. He assumed Castiel had a boyfriend or something. "So is he a particularly hot lamp or just sort of average cause--"
"Just get in the stupid car and come and see your damn brother." Matty took the phone from Castiel, just handling this for him. "He might die so don't be an idiot. Get your head out of your ass and get in that car. Okay?!"
"He's a handsome lamp," Castiel had already replied without any hesitation to clarify, just before the phone was wrestled from him. He blinked and then moved closer, so that Raphael would still be able to hear him. "Sam will reach out to you. He is very reliable!"
A lot more reliable than the handsome lamp, honestly.
"I'm gonna go down. Have fun turning your lamp on."
Raphael hung up because he didn't want to talk about this any more. Though he did now have a list of things he wanted to ask his brother if and when he got to New York.
That was all Raphael sent as he packed up his shit and got ready. He was earlier than expected, because he didn't live far from campus, so he found the car that Sam had mentioned. He double checked the licenses plate from the photo and then picked the lock to the car.
He tossed his stuff into the backseat and sat himself in the passenger side, waiting for his driver.
Sam approached his car and noticed from not that far away that somebody was already sitting inside. Huh. Had he forgotten to lock it this morning? Well, luckily that happened on the one day he expected to be someone's ride.
Not that he wanted this. He had an assignment due soon, he didn't have any time whatsoever for a cross states road trip that would have him away from the library and his lectures and everything for at least a week. But Matty had played all the classics - he had been a baby, how was it his fault that he had been in diapers? - and here he was. Guilted into doing this, given Matty already felt abandoned by him over Sam studying at all, much less studying in California, land of hippies.
Sam got to the passenger side and opened the door, getting in. "Hey, nice to mee--"
Then he stopped talking and simply stared. Oh no. He was not meeting this man for the first time.
Raphael looked at the guy and yeah, there was a memory. Something connected in his head and yeah, he knew who this guy was. But when Raphael had a problem, he only ever knew one solution. He bottled it, shoved it right now and pretended it wasn't there. Instead, he smiled. Whatever, he needed a ride. "I assume you were about to say it's nice to meet me and it is. Really, I'm a pleasure to meet."
He pulled a lolly from his pocket and started to unwrap it. "I'm Raphie. You're Sam. Now - let's do this thing, eh?"
"Yeah..." Was he mistaken? Sam stared at him a while longer. The hair, the eyes, that bit of clavicle he could see. This was definitely the trigger of his bisexual awakening. So, either he was pretending not to remember or, worse still, he didn't remember. Either way, Sam wasn't sure how to proceed.
He frowned and started the car, clearing his throat. "I figured we could drive today until I can't keep my eyes open any more and then check into a motel."
He wasn't sure how many days the trip would take him, depended on his stamina. He glanced at Raphael from the side again, tapping the steering wheel. Should he say something?
"If you get tired, I can tap in at any point." He only had a provisional license but he could drive as long as Sam was sitting next to him. "I haven't clocked my hours atop the steel horse but I'm a good driver." He never crashed a single car when joyriding. Never. And that was a mark of a good driver/respectful criminal.
Raphael put his lolly in his mouth and then started to adjust his seat so he was more comfy. "I prepared the playlist and I got some cash so I'm all set to sweat to death in a car for hours on end."
"I do have A/C." And he also had very vivid memories of licking Raphael's chest as sweat pearls had gathered there. Raphael looked exactly as he remembered him, which was strange. He had been quite drunk at the while, he had kind of talked himself into believing that he remembered him as more attractive than he possibly could be.
Yet here he was, unreasonably attractive. And he had to pretend he didn't know him, had never met him, none of that.
"Don't be, he's a jerkface." Raphael dismissed with a wave of his hand, not willing to get into it all much deeper. To him, Gabriel will always be the brother that wasn't quite right. There was no way to form a connection with him and he'd tried. Gabriel had connections with others, apparently, but he just didn't have them with family. He assumed it was because their family was allergic to liking each other.
"Thanks for driving me 40ish hours into the big apple, kitten."
Raphael winked at Sam and then leaned back, feet stretched out as he got comfortable in his seat. "Let's crank up some tunes and see how long we can last before one of us pees."
"I can last pretty long." Wait, that sounded like a weird brag, a very weird brag, so Sam explained quickly. "Growing up we were on the road a lot and my dad hated when I had to pee. One time he drove off while I was peeing to teach me a lesson."
It had kind of worked, in the most messed up way imaginably. As so many stories with their dad tended to end. No wonder that Matteo shared their dad's dislike for any potty breaks. "I'm not like that, by the way. If you've gotta go, just tell me."
Yes, definitely overshared. "Put on your playlist, maybe it will keep me from embarrassing myself."
"Woah. Your dad really sucks, huh?" That was not a nice story but then, he didn't think any story involving a dad could ever be good. "My dad once left me at the supermarket and drove home. Only it wasn't for a lesson, he just forgot me." He snorted in amusement and then held his hand up to Sam.
"High five for shitty dads, Sammy! We got daddy issues. And you know what they say about daddy issues - makes for the best sex"
He waggled his eyebrows, waiting for that Sam to slap his hand, not aware that he was basically reworking lines he had used way back when at Chuck's party.
"...it was good, I guess." What was this situation? Sam had to laugh, because he couldn't help it. This was completely bizarre. Yeah, he hadn't expected getting drunk and laughing about daddy issues - and some brother issues - to result in his first time with someone of the same sex. He had expected even less to be trapped on a several day long road trip with said one-night-stand.
He gave him a high five because he had a feeling that Raphael wasn't the type to drop it.
Raphael looked at him like he had no clue what he was talking about, the very picture of confusion as he clocked his head to the side and then bit into his lolly pop. He crunched for a few moments and then leaned forward to turn on the playlist using his phone. "You banging a lot of chicks with daddy issues? Cause I bet you pull great."
All right. Apparently they were going to keep on denying it ever happened. It was a little hurtful, given how much that one encounter had sent Sam reeling. However, he supposed it wasn't on anyone but him that he had to figure out his sexuality, he couldn't make that Raphael's burden.
He shook his head. "I don't look to pull. That's more my brother's style. Including the chicks with daddy issues. I don't even use the word chicks, unless we are talking about baby chickens. Which are adorable."
"They are adorable. Smart and sexy, you really have it all." Raphael laughed and leaned forward to crank up the volume on the playlist. As Katy Perry filled the car, he leaned into the back of the car and awkwardly hung over his own seat as he tried to reach his stuff.
After a few seconds of basically waggling his ass around at Sam, he got back into his seat with a can of monster energy drink in his hand. He cracked it open, took some sugar packets from his pocket and added them into it before taking a sip.
"I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter. Dancing through the fire 'cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!"
While Raphael was wiggling his butt around like a strange strip show, Sam did his best to focus on the road, to very much focus on the road. This was awkward enough without adding the risk of popping a boner.
Then Raphael sat properly again and he did glance over. Glanced over and then his eyes almost popped out of his head. "...did you just put extra sugar into your energy drink?" What the hell. "Are you trying to get hyper like a toddler? Cause I gotta tell you, man, a heart attack seems the more likely outcome here." Perhaps a heart attack while being hyper like a toddler.
"I think Monster is a bit too tart so I add some sugar to make it a bit easier to get down the ol' hatch. I used to just drink maple syrup but the prices went through the roof. I had to find an alternative." Raphael sipped his drink again and then looked at Sam's horrified face. He snorted, unable to stop smiling because he looked so alarmed. "You want some? I got a six pack of monster and half my bag is sugar packets."
He wished he was lying but he liked to make sure that wherever he went, he had the option to add sugar. "I also have some weird Oreo coke I'm dying to try."
"I don't drink energy drinks. Or soft drinks." And what the hell was oreo coke? It sounded horrifying and like something Matty would love. Although even Matty would not add extra sugar to monster. Or, worse, drink maple syrup. Douse bacon pancakes in it, sure, Matty did that all the time. "Damn. You have a whole sweet jaw, not just a tooth."
That was insane. "I just drink kombucha sometimes. And smoothies."
"Oh man, you live on the wild side, huh?" Raphael laughed at the statement and shook his head, turning up the playlist more and leaning back as he watched them enter the first of many highways to come.
He drank his monster mostly in silence, checking his phone and sending Michael some spam to get his attention in the hopes he'd not let Castiel down.
Once the energy drink was gone, he set it aside and looked at Sam. "So are our bros boning or what?"
Sam coughed, surprised by the question. That was quite the line for the man who was apparently in denial over their own encounter. He considered the question as he cleared his throat, then shook his head. "Matty's very convinced he's straight. He's a manly man. He makes gay jokes. No, I don't think they're... Whatever."
He wasn't saying they didn't want to, he just couldn't see his brother getting there easily. Or ever.
"Okay so not playing hide the pickle. I was just wondering if he was into the sexy lamp or not." Raphael mused as he drummed his fingers in the side of the car, checked the time and then groaned. They were almost an hour in and he was so bored already. He slumped in his seat and sighed.
"I'm bored." Super bored. Painfully bored. "Tell me something fun."
"I don't know what you'd consider fun." He was here, trapped between thinking about the assignment he ought to be working on and the sexy and quite hyper man in the car that he had had sex with that they were apparently not acknowledging.
"Maybe you can try sleeping. You don't snore, so. That's a plus." He remembered that much, from sleeping next to him. Which he could maybe eventually get him to engage with, before it drove him insane.
Damn. He just wouldn't let it go, would he? Raphael put his sunglasses on and stretched out. "Sleep is boring. I don't get sleep. I prefer short naps, if I gotta, but long sleep? Eh. It's such a waste cause it's late at night when you wanna do stuff." Raphael complained as he tilted his head back and managed to be quiet for a few moments.
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We need to talk.
(This is Castiel.)
(Your brother.)
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(Psst. Are you sure???)
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He got hurt.
(Yes, I am certain.)
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(Did you do a DNA test?)
(DNA is a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information. Did you take science at school or did you only get God-science????)
(ilu)
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(I watched your birth.)
(I don't know if God was there too.)
(Probably.)
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Tell me how he's doing. Good luck to him.
(Ew)
(I was a cute baby <3)
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(Yes. You were.)
(I liked holding you.)
(I remember when you first smiled.)
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I'll send a card.
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Please, brother.
I know you would regret it.
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I don't need a ride
Buy me a car instead.
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So it was very urgent.
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Raphael wasn't sure what else to say. He liked Gabriel okay, for the most part. He wasn't super close with him but he was the least off-putting of his brothers. A total dumbass and always pointed out how weak he was and how he needed to hit the gym but, well, good deep down. "Right. Well. Fuck, I guess I'm going." He let out a low whistle. "So about that new car...?"
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And Matteo had assured him that Sam was going to go on this road trip for him. Apparently 'it was easy to guilt little brothers'. Castiel was less convinced of that, talking to Raphael.
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"You could instead, you know, lease me a car. We can lie about the license, no one even checks." Or, at least, he assumed as much.
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"I will give him your number and you can make arrangements. We are in New York. I am at the hospital."
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That was all he could promise right now as he felt his stomach fluttering at the idea. "Is, you know, is Luci gonna be there? Mikey? The whole gang?"
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Castiel was silent for a moment, then, as Matty gestured, he tried the guilt approach. "It is difficult. I would like you here. I changed your diapers."
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"Ew." Why did he keep being gross today? "Well... I was a baby, champ. I couldn't help it. Look, I'll -- I'll think about it."
"Talk about the stupid gameboy story. More personal. Go for the heart." Matty whispered covertly. As best he could.
"... Is someone else there?"
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There, he'd covered that up nicely. And now he could swiftly move on to the gameboy story. "I bought you a gameboy." That was kind of the whole story, but Matty kept gesturing. "I saved up all my money and I did it because you liked games a lot. I had to help you hide it."
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"Just get in the stupid car and come and see your damn brother." Matty took the phone from Castiel, just handling this for him. "He might die so don't be an idiot. Get your head out of your ass and get in that car. Okay?!"
"... Cas, your lamp is yelling at me."
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A lot more reliable than the handsome lamp, honestly.
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Raphael hung up because he didn't want to talk about this any more. Though he did now have a list of things he wanted to ask his brother if and when he got to New York.
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How soon are you gonna be ready to leave?
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💃💃💃
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How does this afternoon sound to you? I have a class that ends at two thirty, I could be in the parking lot at three.
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which car?
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I'll be the guy sitting in the car
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That was all Raphael sent as he packed up his shit and got ready. He was earlier than expected, because he didn't live far from campus, so he found the car that Sam had mentioned. He double checked the licenses plate from the photo and then picked the lock to the car.
He tossed his stuff into the backseat and sat himself in the passenger side, waiting for his driver.
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Not that he wanted this. He had an assignment due soon, he didn't have any time whatsoever for a cross states road trip that would have him away from the library and his lectures and everything for at least a week. But Matty had played all the classics - he had been a baby, how was it his fault that he had been in diapers? - and here he was. Guilted into doing this, given Matty already felt abandoned by him over Sam studying at all, much less studying in California, land of hippies.
Sam got to the passenger side and opened the door, getting in. "Hey, nice to mee--"
Then he stopped talking and simply stared. Oh no. He was not meeting this man for the first time.
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He pulled a lolly from his pocket and started to unwrap it. "I'm Raphie. You're Sam. Now - let's do this thing, eh?"
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He frowned and started the car, clearing his throat. "I figured we could drive today until I can't keep my eyes open any more and then check into a motel."
He wasn't sure how many days the trip would take him, depended on his stamina. He glanced at Raphael from the side again, tapping the steering wheel. Should he say something?
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Raphael put his lolly in his mouth and then started to adjust his seat so he was more comfy. "I prepared the playlist and I got some cash so I'm all set to sweat to death in a car for hours on end."
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Yet here he was, unreasonably attractive. And he had to pretend he didn't know him, had never met him, none of that.
Damn. "Er. Sorry about your brother."
He should probably say that.
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"Thanks for driving me 40ish hours into the big apple, kitten."
Raphael winked at Sam and then leaned back, feet stretched out as he got comfortable in his seat. "Let's crank up some tunes and see how long we can last before one of us pees."
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It had kind of worked, in the most messed up way imaginably. As so many stories with their dad tended to end. No wonder that Matteo shared their dad's dislike for any potty breaks. "I'm not like that, by the way. If you've gotta go, just tell me."
Yes, definitely overshared. "Put on your playlist, maybe it will keep me from embarrassing myself."
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"High five for shitty dads, Sammy! We got daddy issues. And you know what they say about daddy issues - makes for the best sex"
He waggled his eyebrows, waiting for that Sam to slap his hand, not aware that he was basically reworking lines he had used way back when at Chuck's party.
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He gave him a high five because he had a feeling that Raphael wasn't the type to drop it.
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Raphael looked at him like he had no clue what he was talking about, the very picture of confusion as he clocked his head to the side and then bit into his lolly pop. He crunched for a few moments and then leaned forward to turn on the playlist using his phone. "You banging a lot of chicks with daddy issues? Cause I bet you pull great."
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He shook his head. "I don't look to pull. That's more my brother's style. Including the chicks with daddy issues. I don't even use the word chicks, unless we are talking about baby chickens. Which are adorable."
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After a few seconds of basically waggling his ass around at Sam, he got back into his seat with a can of monster energy drink in his hand. He cracked it open, took some sugar packets from his pocket and added them into it before taking a sip.
"I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter. Dancing through the fire 'cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!"
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Then Raphael sat properly again and he did glance over. Glanced over and then his eyes almost popped out of his head. "...did you just put extra sugar into your energy drink?" What the hell. "Are you trying to get hyper like a toddler? Cause I gotta tell you, man, a heart attack seems the more likely outcome here." Perhaps a heart attack while being hyper like a toddler.
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He wished he was lying but he liked to make sure that wherever he went, he had the option to add sugar. "I also have some weird Oreo coke I'm dying to try."
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That was insane. "I just drink kombucha sometimes. And smoothies."
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He drank his monster mostly in silence, checking his phone and sending Michael some spam to get his attention in the hopes he'd not let Castiel down.
Once the energy drink was gone, he set it aside and looked at Sam. "So are our bros boning or what?"
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He wasn't saying they didn't want to, he just couldn't see his brother getting there easily. Or ever.
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"I'm bored." Super bored. Painfully bored. "Tell me something fun."
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"Maybe you can try sleeping. You don't snore, so. That's a plus." He remembered that much, from sleeping next to him. Which he could maybe eventually get him to engage with, before it drove him insane.
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Then he started up again. "I need to pee."