The Perk [Sunday afternoon]

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

Sunday afternoons were meant for being lazy. Pepper found herself contemplating this as she actually went somewhere that was neither work nor her apartment (nor Tony's) and set herself up with her laptop and some coffee.

Really, the laptop was more out of habit than anything, since she was -- shock -- reading a book. No, really. With pages and everything.

[I got sent home on account of work being dead! Open omg!]

Comments

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Ray was not a computer kinda guy. However, he was a guy, and it was the hot redhead from the party. So he kinda made his way, smoothly, smoothly, towards her with his cup of coffee chunk-full of chocolate. "So you, uh, got out of the party alive and kickin'."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"I lived to dance and drink another day," Pepper said, smiling up at him and setting her book aside. "Hello, Mr. Kowalski. And apparently the dinosaurs have yet to make a return, either."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Eh. Dinosaurs. I'm not holding my breath," he let her know. You know, in case she was wondering.

And, hey, if that wasn't an invitation, he didn't know what was. Ray crashed in the seat in front of her. "So what's cooking?"

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Nothing terribly exciting," she assured him. "I'm watching our stock lose some more value, today." She nodded at her screen. "And yourself? Any interesting cases or...whatever?"

Look, everything Pepper knew about police work, she had learned from either television, or through a lawyer who was advising her boss.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"On this island? Nah. If we got cases, they show." Like a gazillion phone calls made every time it rained something outside or something. "Just paperwork, and who needs that, right?"

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Well, my job is essentially a lifetime's worth of paperwork," she admitted. "So if you ever need, you know, filing tips, or anything."

Yes, Pepper. Just what every guy wants.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"I dunno," he said, squinting at her across the table. "I could use a good filer." He thought he was being smooth, yes.

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Oh, when it comes to filing," she assured him, her face completely serious, "I'm not just good. I'm the best." She thought she was being equally smooth. It was kind of sad.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Best filer, huh?" he asked, deciding she was kinda dorky and it was kinda cute. "Maybe I gotta put you on speed dial. For, um, emergencies."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"You'd need my phone number for that," she pointed out, raising her brows.

Yes, she wanted him to ask.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Ray grinned. Okay, it wasn't subtle, but he was still proud about catching it. At least, he thought he caught it. He better caught it. "Wanna help a guy out?"

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

Pepper located a little scrap of paper and neatly wrote her number down, sliding it over to him. "That's my Blackberry number, so I should be reachable at any given time," she assured him. "I know how filing emergencies can just crop up."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

He pushed his fingers down on the paper and slid it over the rest of the way. Huh. Cute handwriting. "Yeah, I'll call you if there's any-- emergencies. Yannow."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"I'll come to the rescue with my highlighters and labelmaker," she promised, smiling.

Tony probably wouldn't like him. Hahahaha so there.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"I'll be lookin' forward to it," Ray promised, grinning. Wait, was he already out of coffee? "I hate paperwork, but, uh, highlighters are alright."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Pff, you probably don't even need half the paperwork you're stuck with anyway. It's just a matter of streamlining," she pointed out, sadly, perfectly serious. "But yes, highlighters do make it better."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Hey, you back me up on that argument to the brass, I'll raise it," Ray replied. He was also kinda serious. But mostly just because he hated paperwork. "You got a good head on your shoulders."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," she said, taking that as an actual compliment as well as a fact. "I mean, I have to. Someone has to think of these things."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Sounds like you got it handled," he assured her. "From here to Chinatown."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

She nodded thoughtfully. "But I don't mean to keep you from, um, anywhere exciting you have to go," she added quickly, realizing that she'd kind of been talking a bit. Flirting, even. She was allowed to flirt. It was a weekend, after all.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Me? I got nowhere exciting," Ray said, shoving the number in his pocket. Hot girl. Liked him. Huh. "But I'll give you a call and, uh, we can find somewhere this week. Yannow. Exciting."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Sounds wonderful," she said, smiling genuinely. "Provided that we can actually find an exciting place on the island," she added, raising a brow.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"I'm not a small-town kinda guy," Ray shrugged, leaning his chair way back. Not enough that he'd have to put his feet on the table, because that would be, um, bad, but still. Leaning. Comfortable. "We don't need to, uh, stick to the island."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"No?" Pepper raised a brow. She seriously doubted that he meant that like Tony did when he said it. Cops probably did not private jets. "I haven't really investigated the mainland like I should have."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"I got my, uh, I got my car in the lot," he said, making a gesture in the direction of said lot. "We can head out into town or something, see what we can dig up."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"I honestly didn't think anyone here actually had cars," she said, surprised.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Not a lot of places to drive," he admitted, "But yeah, I got a car." There was a pause. He was trying to restrain himself-- "The parking lot's in Alexandria," he started, "Who the hell puts a parking lot for a place in Maryland in Alexandria?"

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

Pepper almost wanted to smile, but her knowledge of geography kicked in. "Alexandria, Virginia?"

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that one," he said, pointing a finger in her direction to agree. "Had to drive all the way back first time I got here."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

Pepper just stared. "Wait, really? Why? What's the logic behind it?"

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"See, that's what I keep sayin'. Why the hell does anyone slap down a parking lot in Virginia, then put in a big-- swirly-- um, thingie that leads to Maryland?"

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"Portal?" she supplied. She knew a little about those.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," he said, and gestured once. "A portal," Ray repeated. "It's in the lot."

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"We took one to the other planet," she said, nodding. "That seems a little, um, excessive, though."

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

Ray shrugged, kinda. "As long as it gets me to my car," he said, "Even if it's kinda weird." He wasn't going anywhere without his car. Not since he got it back.

And that time Fraser got it stolen.

[lots-of-olives.livejournal.com]

"No, I understand. I just don't see why we can't have a parking lot in...Maryland. You know, the same state. It's a radical concept, I know," Pepper said dryly.

[headkickpoet.livejournal.com]

"Hey, when you find out," he said, with a snerk to his voice, "You let me know. Portals make me queasy."