The Perk, Wednesday Afternoon

[bitten_notshy]

Jack found himself a bit at loose ends this Wednesday, with his last class of the week over and done. He made a quick call to Emma and went to the Perk. They had good tea, and he was curious how her audition had gone.

He got a cup of Earl Grey and a (soggy) egg salad sandwich and found a seat near the window. A paperback was open on the table in front of him, but he was watching people far more than he was reading.

[OOC: Open like an NPC-run coffee shop!]

Comments

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel arrived with his laptop and ordered the smallest coffee on the menu -- which he had no intention of drinking. It was time for his weekly battle against the Supernatural novel fangirls.

He nodded to Jack as he passed, looking for a good place to set himself up.

[icecoldfrost]

After her sorority meeting, Emma headed down to the Perk, ordering a small mocha before joining Jack by the window.

"Anything good?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder slightly to look at the book before taking a seat of her own. "Or just passing the time?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Hello," Jack offered, in response to the nod. "I'm not at your table, am I?"

Not that he was guaranteed to move, even if he was.

[bitten_notshy]

"Not in particular," Jack admitted as he smiled up at her. "Fantasy novel for class. It's too long and rather ridiculous."

"How are you?"

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel shook his head. "I wasn't aware that customers owned the tables."

He was suddenly struck with the idea that he'd been spending his time at someone else's table.

Considering that he spent most of his time in someone else's body, he wasn't terribly distressed by the idea.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or not, and decided to react as if it was. He'd be more entertained that way.

"Not exactly, but spend enough time here and they'll make you sign a lease," he said.

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel wasn't prone to sarcasm. And he wasn't always the best at picking up on hyperbole.

"I thought you only had to ensure you ordered something."

[bitten_notshy]

"Oh, they'll let you sit at a table just for ordering something," Jack advised. "But if you want one particular table reserved for you, that's more money."

He smiled slightly. "It's all right. They aren't too crowded. I'm sure you can sit where you like."

[OOC: I have this feeling a thunderbolt is about to strike Jack down.]

[scruffnfeathers]

[ooc: nah, I think there's canonical evidence to support the idea that Castiel's god likes to watch him flounder. . . .]

"They ought to post a notice," Castiel noted, perhaps in a grumpier tone than usual. "Perhaps a 'FAQ'."

[icecoldfrost]

"We got dressed up as characters from Arthurian literature in class today, maybe the teachers are in collusion," she laughed. "Not bad, I just came from the sorority meeting, where we debated what sort of project we want to work on."

"Personally, I'm voting for world domination, but I'm sure we'll end up with a bake sale or something instead."

[bitten_notshy]

"The clerk might have a brochure." A beat. "... FAQ?"

Look, someone was from 1899.

[bitten_notshy]

"Threaten to bake if they don't let you try to rule the world?" Jack offered with a laugh. "I think that would work."

[scruffnfeathers]

It wasn't often that Castiel got to explain something non-religious to someone. He was rather excited by the idea.

"It stands for 'frequently asked questions'. A sort of . . . beginner's guide to something. I've found them quite useful so far while sailing the web."

[bitten_notshy]

That made sense; Jack nodded. "Oh, a primer? I don't go online often. I know how to check my email, but that's about it. I'm a little displaced in time."

[scruffnfeathers]

"In essence, yes." Castiel looked mildly interested at that revelation. "When are you from, then?"

[icecoldfrost]

"Mean, Jack," she sighed, pouting at him slightly. "I'm sure I could manage cookies, if I had to."

If it was that pre-made cookie dough that came ready to slice and stick in the oven, maybe, and even that was iffy.

[bitten_notshy]

"1899," Jack said. "And a universe over, but that's mostly a change in the details. I've been here since May."

He looked up, more interested because the man was interested in him. "Where are you from?"

[glacial_queen]

*Eeep,* Karla sent, catching sight of them both through the Perk's window. *Is this--? Should I--? I mean--?* Even mentally she was stuttering.

[scruffnfeathers]

A hundred and ten years was nothing in Castiel's eyes, though he was beginning to get a slightly better grasp of what such an amount of time would mean to a human. He nodded.

"Heaven," he said simply. "Though, perhaps also a universe removed."

[bitten_notshy]

"You are taking that cooking class..." he said, with deliberate thoughtfulness and a teasing grin. "So, cookies first, and then you take over the world?"

[icecoldfrost]

< Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... > Emma called in a private link. She so wasn't getting away that easy, and Emma beckoned her in from inside the Perk.

< Don't stand there like a doozer, darling, come join us. >

[icecoldfrost]

Emma raised an eyebrow. "I'll make you eat them," she warned. "Then we'll see how smug you are about my world domination."

[bitten_notshy]

"Heaven?" Jack echoed, and -- sensing that this time it wasn't sarcasm -- dimly remembered a conversation with Chuck. "You don't work at the church, do you?"

It sounded less odd than asking the man if he were an angel.

[scruffnfeathers]

"I've been given charge over it, yes." Castiel didn't quite consider it 'working'. His work was averting the apocalypse. This was . . . a side project. A volunteer activity he did in his spare time.

[bitten_notshy]

"Chuck Bass mentioned you to me, then," Jack said. "Or I suspect as much. I'm Jack. I have a class with him."

And he saw what Chuck meant about the angel not being very ... angelic. Though he was feeling a little guilty about his sarcasm.