Externalizing [mxm]

Chapter 17

Marc raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the menu. "What the hell is jackfruit?"

Brendan snickered and ducked behind his menu. "Why don't you order it and find out?"

"Give me some context of it first at least," Marc grumbled. He wasn't opposed to trying new things, but he'd at least like to know what it was before ordering it.

"Think of it like shredded pork," Brendan said. "Though I'm getting the truffle mac n cheese with the kale on the side."

Marc sighed and gave in for ordering jackfruit tacos. The restaurant itself had a vibe that he wasn't used to-the bartender had dreadlocks, as did their waitress, and their clothes looked like they'd been recycled and sewn together. There were some people casually dressed to eat, while others had also dressed up for the place.

"What do you want to do after this?" Marc asked, already trying to think ahead on what came after dinner.

"I was going to leave that up to you," Brendan admitted. "Since I got to pick dinner."

Marc fell silent after that, though he scrambled to try and think of something. Usually it was Ariel that got to pick what they did, so all he could come up with were things like the Children's Museum and a couple other places that were not meant for two full grown men.

Their food was brought out, and Marc was again suspicious of what he had actually ordered. He glanced at his dish and then at Brendan's. "I should have gotten what you got." At least Marc could guess he was going to like Mac n Cheese.

"Try a bite. If you don't like it, we can switch," Brendan compromised.

Marc picked up the soft shell taco and turned it around. It really did look like shredded pork, as well with a few other toppings like corn and shredded greens. He gave in and went for a bite, reeling slightly when it actually tasted like shredded pork as well. "You said this was a fruit," he accused.

"It is a fruit. That just happens to taste like pork," Brendan giggled.

"Way too confusing," Marc declared. He took another bite though after figuring it wasn't that bad... he just couldn't wrap his head around it. He still tried a bite of Brendan's Mac n Cheese, as well as the kale on the side-which also somehow tasted rather savory, despite being vegetarian.

"How about this," Brendan began, waving his fork around. "We'll go down and park and walk around. We'll find a concert or something and just get some tickets. We can either hate or enjoy something like that together. Or who knows, maybe one of us'll hate it and the other will love it."

Marc chuckled. "Sounds like a plan, actually. I've never been to a concert other than some choir and so on and so forth. I can buy the tickets?"

"You're already paying for dinner," Brendan protested.

"And tell me, Mr. Teacher, how much is it in the budget for you to spend however much on concert tickets?" Marc challenged him knowingly.

Brendan fell grudgingly silent and agreed. They finished eating and Marc footed the bill, while Brendan was at least able to cover the tip. Brendan guided the way to a street where there were a number of concert venues, and they found a place to park.

They bypassed a few places that Brendan said sounded too boring based on the posted names. He finally found a place that he considered worthy, though Marc was sure Brendan might have already been familiar with the place even if he didn't know the band playing.

Marc paid for the tickets, though immediately felt like he was overdressed. Brendan just laughed knowingly over the music and helped Marc pop the first few buttons of his shirt, enough to make him look more casual. Marc tweaked and pulled at his ears over the loud guitars and drums pulsing through the speakers.