The Arms Hotel, Saturday

[gunslingerpose]

Nick was in a pretty good mood today. All heroing done last night in Baltimore had gone well, and today after the hits of energy he'd taken from muggers and drug dealers wore off, he still didn't feel particularly like he needed a sling for his arm. He had it tucked under the desk while he worked today, just in case, and he still wasn't quite able to get his full range of mobility out of it, but it felt good to be able to use it for things.

So, yeah. Mental note: Don't let some guy shit-kick your arm right out of the socket while out heroing in Balitmore. Good to remember from here on out.

Welcome to the Arms Hotel!
Today's Specials:
Lamb Tagine
Caprese Salad Skewers
Peach Crisp

Now if only his shift wasn't mostly spent fielding a phone call about the going room rates for a person from a reality that used live mice as currency, today would be perfect.

[Open and OCD-free!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

On Saturdays, Kathy liked to run from the dorms to Barry's warehouse for a visit, starting from the South Gate down Apocalypse to make a proper jog of it. That normally brought her past the Arms Hotel on Thunderbird, a fact that very rarely registered.

Today was different only in that Kathy's proper water bottle had been forgotten at the warehouse and she'd made due with just a plastic bottle of Poland Spring for her run--a bottle that had been emptied before she'd even rounded past the docks.

Not thinking of anything but getting a much-needed refill, entered the hotel's lobby, taking a second to appreciate the air conditioning before she looked around for someone to ask for a refill.

Oh, AC. You were a blessing from the gods.

[gunslingerpose]

"The hotel apologizes, sir, but I can't make change for three full-grown fancy mice in pinkies, but you're welcome to talk to the local bank before stopping by, and they'll be happy to exchange whatever rodent you like into American currenc-- y..."

Funny how Nick's attention was so easily divided. While the potential guest on the other end of the line rambled on about the net worth of the American white-footed mouse as compared to the fancier domesticated breeds, he was going to just set down the receiver, watch Kathy bask in the air conditioning, and smirk a little.

Well, damn. The jogging gear was a marked improvement on the rainbow gi.

[spin_kick_snap]

There was a vent. Bless you, vent, and the cold air that was pouring through you. Maybe she could just stand under here for a bit. She'd buy some lunch if that's what it took to not get kicked out!

At that thought, her stomach gurgled. Maybe lunch wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. She was hungry.

As per usual.

"Who knew Shangri-Lan was actually in a hotel lobby in Maryland?" she said aloud.

[gunslingerpose]

"You think it's great now, you should see the place when the gremlins decide to have their way with our lobby," Nick replied, eeever so casually sliding the receiver back onto the hook. Gunther would probably kill him if he let someone bring mice into the place anyway. "I'm not gonna stop 'em, I'm not that fucking stupid, but there was this one day they filled a kiddie pool with ice and sand..."

What, you thought you were going unnoticed in here, Kathy?

[spin_kick_snap]

Judging from her jump, why yes, yes she did. She'd just sort of forgotten that anyone was there during her communion with the air vent.

Her jump shot her about four feet in the air and ended with her facing Nick and away from the vent in a demonstration of unintentional aerial acrobatics. Her meta abilities were great for accidental overdramatics.

"Ahh! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" She gave him a hasty bow, childhood mannerisms coming to the fore while her brain scrambled to reboot. "I didn't think--you!"

[gunslingerpose]

See Nick. See Nick stand there with his mouth slightly agape. Okay, he'd been ogling a jumping bean. That was new.

"Yeah, I wasn't thinking me, either," he replied, a beat later. "Can I help you with something, Short, Bright, and Bouncy?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not that short," Kathy retorted, frowning. Because of course Gorgon--err, Nick--had to be tall, dark and handsome. Of course he did. "And I'd just come in to see if I could get a cup of water or something. I got distracted, sorry."

[gunslingerpose]

"The air conditioning unit has that way with the joggers," Nick replied with an easy shrug. "Water, huh? I'd think an athlete like you would know better than to go jogging without."

What? It was hard to ignore those thighs, never mind the crazy acrobatics.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy winced at the censure, mild though it was. "I brought water along!" she protested, holding up the empty Poland Spring bottle. "I just went through it faster than I was expecting. And it wasn't like I could carry another one with me." She pointed to her shorts. "No pockets."

Which is why she was so excited to have functional ones! See?

"I forgot my Nalgene bottle at Barry's the other night, is all." Which was why she wasn't normally here at the hotel during her runs, panting for water and soaking up the AC.

[gunslingerpose]

"See, I'd take that as a sign that maybe you should walk over, get it, and then go for a run," Nick teased, lightly. "It is a small island. But I guess I gotta respect your commitment. You want a glass of water and a top-up on that bottle, then?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"He's got a place further that way," Kathy said, vaguely pointing to one side of the hotel. Look, she didn't know if Barry's warehouse-lab was supposed to be a secret or not, even if it was on the radio sometimes. "It would be a hike to get it even if I did just walk."

She held her bottle out to him, wearing an expression of gratitude. "Would you mind terribly? Both of those would be great."

[gunslingerpose]

"Nah, not at all," Nick replied, pulling the chair out from behind the desk as he went. "Go on, take a seat, catch your breath, get that core body temp down."

He took the bottle and made his way to a briefly abandoned room service cart, filling a clean glass with ice before heading for the water cooler.

"So, you left it at Ricky Schroeder's place, huh? You two close, then?"

Not that it was any of his business, really, but hey, it was conversation.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Ricky Schroeder?" Kathy asked, focusing on the cup of ice more than the conversation. She sat, stretching her legs a bit to keep the muscles from tightening. "You mean Barry? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he's probably one of my best friends on the island. At least when I don't want to take him by the shoulders and shake him till his brain jumpstarts."

[gunslingerpose]

"Yeah, well... teenage boy. Teenage boy who can apparently look like anyone, including child stars from the 70's. That's gonna preclude some shaking, I should think."

Nick didn't know the half of it. He filled the glass with water, and then turned to face her again.

And needed a moment to process those legs, while they were being stretched. Well hi there.

"Weird choice, anyway. He's one of those actors that's been in a million things nobody's ever heard of. You know, the face-in-the-crowd actor type. TV movies and shitty miniseries. That sort of thing."

The way most child actors went once they outgrew their cute.

[spin_kick_snap]

Half? Nick had barely scratched the damn surface.

"Oh," she said, eyes still glued to the water glass. "That's who he was. I half-thought that was a picture of him as a kid or something."

She shrugged, then glanced back up at Nick. "But that's the kind of guy Barry is, I guess. Weirdo." She sounded fond.

[gunslingerpose]

"Weirdo that follows you around while you're out doin' your thing in Baltimore," Nick noted, raising an eyebrow. "That was kind of weird."

Creepy, Nikolai. The word you were looking for was 'creepy.'

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's expression appeared to agree with Nick's inner monologue.

"Yeah, I have no idea what that was about," she replied, limiting herself to small sips of water by sheer will along. "Other than him being nosy as he--as heck."

Good catch, there, Kathy! Nikolai might have been uncomfortable hearing the h-word or something!

"Besides, I thought the two of you got along like a house on fire. You didn't exchange emails or whatever after I left?"

[gunslingerpose]

"Nah. We were mostly in it to tease you. After you left, all the joy had gone out of the conversation." Nick gave his shoulders a shrug as he topped off her water bottle, too. "Anyhow, it's not like I can't get along with someone while still recognizing that following girls around in the dark of night pretending to be a little kid is fucked up. You seemed to have it handled, or I would've probably worried more about it."

If push came to shove, Nikolai already knew that Banzai was very good at the flying tackle.