Drake made a face as he eyed the glass being pushed toward him. It was full of an as-yet unidentified (to Drake...Jay knew what it was, since he had ordered it) almost translucent brown liquid. The bubbles forming on the sides of the glass shook free and rose to the top as Jay pushed the glass across the table, causing the drink to lose a little of its fizz.
"I don't want it," Drake said softly, his voice barely audible above the din of the room surrounding them.
Jay's face fell. "But...it's a classic!" he exclaimed. "It's vintage Coca-Cola, one of the few stashes still around nowadays. I had to bribe Aunt Kira by promising to set her up with a nice young, straight, guy to get it!"
"I don't like cola..." Drake replied. "Not even Coke. And if I did, I could make it myself."
Jay stared down at the table in disappointment, and silent, almost sulky, affirmation. "Yeah...I guess you could..."
Drake stared at the young-looking man sitting across from him. Most would call him a boy, but Drake knew better, and knew that Jay was a few years older than he was actually. He knew better, that Jay's sulk was just an act to try and get his way, but it still didn't sit well in with him. He didn't like seeing that usually cheerful face sad or sulky, because that reminded him of times before when he had seen that same always-smiling person do such things as throwing himself out of a plane, without a parachute, or purposefully letting go of his breath while swimming, to intentionally fill his lungs with unbreatheable water.
He watched the blue eyes staring up at him from behind the double barrier of too-long dark green bangs and glasses that served no other purpose to Jay other than to be a sort of security blanket, and too make him look good, of course. He returned the stare with his own fiery orange eyes, hoping to make the other smile, even though he had the sinking feeling that Jay wouldn't give up until he had gotten his way. And then...he noted the darker, less acted sense of real disappointment behind the cheerful act, and he realized that Jay was layering his acts, and that there was at least one more emotion underneath the cheerful, confident, joking self that was currently behind not-so-successfully hidden beneath the appearance of sulky disappointment.
That flash of realization reminded him that he had brought up the wrong subject. He could make himself a glass of Coke anytime he wanted, despite the fact that it hadn't been sold in over a century. It wasn't a big deal to any of his kind...except for Jay. For Jay, getting a hold of something like that that was actually still good required connections, such as the bribing of his aunt, because otherwise it was near impossible. And, without even thinking, Drake had forgotten about that one limitation to the usually cheerful "boy" sitting across from him. And that bothered Jay, which in turn bothered Drake.
So, sighing, he picked up the glass and took a sip. Sure enough, it was the same taste he recognized, the same fizz of carbonation, and the same sickly sweet nature that was at the heart of the cola. It was enough to make him gag, but he swallowed his pride and downed the rest, just to see that smile spread across Jay's face.
"See?" Jay asked. "A classic, right?"
Drake had to nod. Coke was a classic...not that that made him enjoy it any more.