The Perk [Sunday morning]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

It was Sunday morning, which meant that Josh was out at a coffee shop (the Perk, rather than his usual DC neighborhood one) with a giant mug of black coffee in one hand and a copy of the Sunday New York Times in the other.

And the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune, the Times of London and Le Monde (though he didn't speak French) in a pile on the table in front of him.

Shut up. He didn't have a problem. He was just trying to be informed.

And also he had a problem.

[Open!]

Comments

[not_a_whiner]

"Worried you're not going to be able to keep up?"

Normally Kaidan wouldn't bug anyone on their morning coffee run - he tended to like his solitary, too. But that huge an amount of papers kind of demanded to be commented on with barely-detectable snark.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Everyone I know does the same thing on Sundays," Josh replied.

Because everyone Josh knew was also insane.

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan chuckled. Then paused, as it occurred to him Josh wasn't joking. "...Really?"

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh shrugged. "They might be overachievers."

Not him, though. Really.

[not_a_whiner]

"You picked a weird place to follow in their footsteps," Kaidan said. The island didn't exactly need overachievers.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"It's twenty years of habit, really," Josh replied. "I'm used to being able to answer questions on any number of completely insane subjects."

[not_a_whiner]

"Journalist?" Kaidan guessed. First thing he could think of.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Political operative," Josh replied. "I was the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States until just before Christmas."

[not_a_whiner]

"...Huh."

Yep. 'Huh.'

Well, okay, Kaidan'd also sit down now. "That's a new one."

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Someone being a political operative, or there being a President of the United States?" Josh asked. He smiled as he took a sip from his coffee. "My teaching buddy is a talking pink pony, so I'll accept either answer."

[not_a_whiner]

"The Chief of Staff to the President thing," Kaidan offered. "Though it's the United North American States where I'm from, but hey."

He should probably be less surprised. He personally knew the human councillor.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"In my time, we wear Canada like a jaunty hat," Josh told him. "I'm Josh. Nice to meet you."

[not_a_whiner]

"Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko," Kaidan said wryly. "Canadian."

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"So you're Canadian but there's still a government of North America?" Josh asked. "How does that work?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Kind of like a more intensive European Union," Kaidan said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I mean, technically I'm a North American citizen. But I'm also from Vancouver, you know?"

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh nodded. "I'm from Connecticut," he offered, "which I've been told is not nearly as nice as Vancouver."

[not_a_whiner]

"Never been there to check," Kaidan admitted. "Sorry." He took another sip, and said, "So what're you teaching?"

The shift in gears made sense in his head.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Public speaking," Josh said. "I used to teach here before and remember that US government is only limitedly useful to the students here."

[not_a_whiner]

"You're lucky if you get a full class of people who even know about Earth," Kaidan agreed. "Let alone US government."

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"I was looking at my class roster and have someone with the last name of Borgia on it," Josh said. "I think my head's gonna explode if they're really from the Renaissance."

[not_a_whiner]

"...Probably is," Kaidan said, putting his cup down on the table. "I had to go nearly two hundred years back to get here. It still blows my mind."

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Do we have flying cars there? Tell me we finally get flying cars," Josh demanded.

[not_a_whiner]

How was it that he'd been here for over six months and nobody had asked him that yet? "Yeah, we have flying cars," Kaidan said obligingly, looking amused.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"I KNEW IT!" Josh said, pumping his fists in the air. "Can I get one?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Not on this end of the timeline," Kaidan said dryly. "That might end... badly."