jgob; thursday morning

[flickofthewrist]

Flick was trying to feel better today, he really was. The dull ache in his belly was still there but tolerable. If he moved certain ways, it would start to throb but he was okay right now. And, after spending all of yesterday in bed, he'd wanted to be out of there. New York had been his first choice but he was just too tired to even schedule a portal.

So, he'd walked slowly into town and was now sitting at a table near the window, bundled up with something warm and light to drink. He was staying away from anything harsh or acidic since he didn't end up puking in a public place. That was never good for the reputation.

He sipped his drink slowly and slouched down until he was most comfortable. See, now he was perfectly fine. All was good. Totally.

[Open]

Comments

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

Before opening the bookshop Ichabod stopped by for a coffee. He noticed Flick, who didn't look quite well, and was unsure whether to approach him. They had never spoken much, but had shared a room for a while on that horrid haunted island, so in the end he decided to at least offer a greeting.

"Good morning! Although judging by the look of you it is perhaps not a morning to your liking."

[flickofthewrist]

"No mornings are to my liking, really," he said, trying to sit up a bit. He nodded at Ichabod. "But, I'm fine. Just a little sleep deprived."

To say the least.

"How are you doing?"

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ichabod said. "I am well, thank you. I work on Thursdays, but have time for coffee before that." He paused for a moment. "Do you mind of I join you?"

Perhaps drinking his coffee while reading a book would be more enjoyable, as Flick could be a man avoiding to say too much even on a good day, but that seemed rude.

[flickofthewrist]

"No, go ahead," Flick said, nodding towards the other chair. "Where you working at?"

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Book Haven," Ichabod replied, sitting down opposite Flick. "One would expect it to be a quiet place, but as this is Fandom even books behave strangely."

[flickofthewrist]

Flick raised an eyebrow and sipped his drink carefully. "How do books behave badly? Refuse to open?"

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I haven't experienced that yet, but they have been arguing, laughing behind my back, fighting, changing places, flying around and been generally troublesome." Ichabod sipped his coffee. "It is hard to imagine that they have absorbed any wisdom from within their own pages."

[flickofthewrist]

"Sounds noisy." He'd probably end up shoving the books into a closet if he'd been working there right now. No patience for talking books when he felt bad. "Not surprising though. Everything on this island seems to be alive in some way, shape, or form."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"That is my impression as well," Ichabod agreed. "Do you work anywhere here? I hadn't expected to myself, but I quickly discovered I needed more money here than I had expected to."

[flickofthewrist]

Flick shook his head. "Don't really need the money. My father died awhile back and left me most of his fortune. But, I might look into something after I graduate because I'll get bored if I don't."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"You are lucky, then," Ichabod said. "Have you decided what kind of profession would suit you? Will you follow in your father's footsteps?"

[flickofthewrist]

"No," Flick said quickly and firmly. "Never. He's not someone I want to follow whether there's two feet or twenty thousand miles between us. He can rot."

Yep.

"I don't know what I want to do," he added, calming down slightly. "Something that keeps me busy."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Ah." Ichabod took a long sip of his coffee, thinking that while his relationship with his own father was by no means perfect, clearly Flick had more troubles with his, even dead.

"What did he do to deserve such judgement?" It was a nosy question, but this was one of the first times he had actually got a strong reaction from Flick.

[flickofthewrist]

"Killed my brother," he said bluntly. "Among other things."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

Taken aback, Ichabod stared at Flick. "Truly? Then he most certainly deserve your rejection. I am sorry."

Perhaps that explained the distance he kept.

[Night!]

[flickofthewrist]

"Not something I'd lie about," he said, shrugging. "Thanks, though. It's been a long time. I'm over it."

No he wasn't.

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

He didn't seem over it, but it wasn't a subject Ichabod was going to pursue against his will.

"Has your stay here inspired you to any new directions in life, then?"

[flickofthewrist]

"Somewhat," Flick told him, shrugging. "I don't think I'll go into teaching or retail or anything. But there are other things that this place has shown me are pretty interesting."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Oh? Anything in particular?"

Ichabod took another sip from his coffee.

[flickofthewrist]

Flick shrugged because he was naturally cagey like that. "I like investing money. So, maybe look into business ownership or something. But, I'm pretty good when it comes to electronics and IT stuff too."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Electronics?" That caught Ichabod's interest. "Then perhaps you can help me with something?"

[flickofthewrist]

"I can try," Flick told him, sitting up and suppressing a grimace. "What's up?"

It'd help him take his mind off the eight million other things that he was dealing with.

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

Ichabod showed him the Iphone that Celia had given him for Christmas. "I find this quite useful, but it has the annoying habit of suggesting the wrong words when I write messages."

[flickofthewrist]

"It's autocorrecting you," Flick said, chuckling a bit. "It's trying to guess what you're going to type to save you time. It's not always right."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I certainly don't need a piece of machinery to correct my spelling, and as it is wrong half of the time I find the claim of 'time saving' questionable," Ichabod replied with a frown.

[flickofthewrist]

"You can turn it off," Flick said, amused. "Some people use it, some people hate it. It's just a stupid little feature they give you to try and help you out."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I would be sincerely grateful if you showed me how to turn it off," Ichabod said, offering Flick the phone.

[flickofthewrist]

"It's pretty easy," he said, making his way through various menus before finding the one to turn off autocorrect. He held it so Ichabod could see it. "Just uncheck the box and it should stop doing that. If it keeps going, it's something with the phone and you'll have to call Apple."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Thank you for your kind assistance," Ichabod said. "I still have much to learn about modern technology."

He was however quite proud of all he had learnt so far.

[flickofthewrist]

"No problem," Flick said, passing the phone back to Ichabod. "It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The phone's a good one. It'll last you awhile."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"It was a Christmas gift from Celia," Ichabod said, returning the phone to his pocket. He was unaware of the look on his face as he mentioned her name, which made his feelings for her quite obvious. "I gave her a small telescope. Modern inventions make wonderful gifts."

[flickofthewrist]

Flick snickered a bit at the look on Ichabod's face but didn't say anything. He wasn't going to begrudge someone their feelings.

"Yeah, and modern inventions tend to be a lot easier to get a girl than clothes or something."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I understand very little of modern ladies' clothes," - apart from that they were often very revealing - "so I am glad I am not expected to buy them."

Not that he would have been much use at buying an 18th century dress either.

"With some help I haven mastered the art of ordering things on the internet," he added.

[flickofthewrist]

"Just be careful with that," Flick told him, "because it can get addicting. If anyone introduces you to credit, you might be doomed."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"I certainly won't get myself into debt," Ichabod replied, as if the idea was absurd. "But there is certainly no lack of choice." He paused for a moment. "But is truly technology a customary gift to one's beloved in this time?"

[flickofthewrist]

Flick nodded. "This time's really technological. Phones, tablets, ereaders, laptops, computers, all that. If you wanna stay connected, you have a few different gadgets. Most people want them and they're always upgrading so they make easy gifts."

[not-called-icky.livejournal.com]

"Celia does not care about technology," Ichabod said. "But I believe the telescope was appreciated."

[flickofthewrist]

"If she likes to read, you can get her something called an ereader next time," he told Ichabod. "It stores books electronically so she can carry it with her when she travels and doesn't have to worry about lugging heavy books around."