The Perk, Monday Morning

[hatesparadise]

After having to explain how showers worked to an actual fact pirate yesterday, Danny felt he had more than earned the right to have a ridiculously sweet coffee adjacent drink. A guy couldn't live off the dregs of the work coffee pot after all.

Well, a guy could. But that way lay madness and probably explosions.

So he was just going to enjoy his coffee and pastry that didn't even hold a candle to a fresh malasada or literally anything from Liliha's.

[open, yes!]

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[crimson_sister]

Lucille was going to enjoy a cup of tea and a pastry that wasn't one of her own attempts at baking. Having ordered, she looked towards the tables to see if there was anyone she knew.

There wasn't, just a stranger, like most people were to her on the island nowadays.

[hatesparadise]

Well, did it help that Danny was hoping that he wouldn't be around for long? Therefore she didn't need to know him!

He was a precious man who thought he could escape Fandom's clutches.

Though he did offer her a closed mouth little smile and nod combo of common courtesy once he noticed he wasn't the only customer there anymore.

[crimson_sister]

Lucille smiled back.

"It's too hot today, isn't it? You almost with it would rain."

She was being sarcastic, not about the opinion she expressed, but talking about the weather.

[hatesparadise]

Hey, he was used to Hawaii weather now and that was a terrifying thing. This wasn't too bad.

"Oh, summer's just begun," he replied dryly, turning his full attention over toward her at least. "But there's a reason I'm indoors right now. Like any sane person I've chosen to be in air conditioning. As god intended."

[crimson_sister]

"The summer here is terrible," Lucille said, walking over to a nearby table.

"I will have to get used to it again, along with air conditioning."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had promised himself the Perk after class, and he kept his promises whenever possible, so despite seeing the obnoxious new detective was already there, he still went in for a coffee and a muffin.

“Wow,” he said, smirking at Danny over the lip of his mug. “I haven’t seen you in like a week. You find someone else to harass?”

[hatesparadise]

Danny waved a hand at his own table if she wanted a seat. Not like anyone was going to be joining him here.

"Where you coming from?"

[hatesparadise]

Danny flipped him off while taking a gratifying sip of his over-priced coffee. "Missed you too, babe," he replied dryly.

[betterthanaplan]

Yep, being casually called "babe" was still weird. Duke wasn't going to give Danny the satisfaction of letting him know that, though.

"So what have you been up to, then? Arresting woodchucks? Lecturing the alots?"

[hatesparadise]

It was a perfectly normal thing to do! Just like repeatedly telling your partner that you loved him. You know. In a platonic way.

"Oh, funny. I forgot how funny you were in that peaceful week I had." He said it just so dryly that it was almost hard to read as sarcasm or not.

[crimson_sister]

"Cumberland, England, 1890," Lucille replied, hesitating a little before taking a seat. "And yourself?"

[betterthanaplan]

Well. Duke was hilarious, so clearly it wasn't sarcasm.

"It was a pretty good week, wasn't it?" It was for Duke, anyway. He'd actually felt better than he had in ages after his post-breakdown talk with the school counselor. He was not about to let Danny know that, though. Or look at it too closely, himself.

Or think about the fact that this was the first he'd thought of Octavia all day, and that that meant he really was starting to get used to life without her.

"Surprised you didn't show up to fuss over fish cake last week. Or was the time off your birthday present to me?"

[hatesparadise]

"Hawaii via New Jersey," he replied with a little amused sigh. "About five or so years back from now. I'm startin' to think I need a punch card for meeting people from a different century here."

[hatesparadise]

Danny was honestly just glad he talked to someone. Because Danny paid attention to the radio, you schmuck.

"Aww, you missed me, didn't you?"

And yes, maybe he thought that giving the guy some space was a good thing. He wasn't a weird, emotional octopus like some people he knew.

[betterthanaplan]

Just so long as Duke wasn't being reckless with sharp objects, at least.

"Ah yes. Because I've been aching without a regular dose of Jersey belligerence in my life." He took another sip of his coffee. "You missed the unicorns."

[hatesparadise]

That was a special case! That was a cause for concern.

"...yeah, I think I might have made a good call on that one," he decided slowly. Thank god Grace was getting out of that phase.

And into surly teen phase. Which was ten times worse.

[betterthanaplan]

"I had to reassure one of the kids that their horns weren't used as weapons."

Because such was life in Fandom.

[hatesparadise]

Danny shamelessly snickered into his coffee. "Well, I mean. Horses are dangerous enough without the added weapons."

[betterthanaplan]

"What do you know?" Duke said, rolling his eyes. "Someone could probably hand you a bouquet of flowers and you'd rant at them about all the ways they could be used to maim someone."

[hatesparadise]

Well. It was possible in his life.

"I think I would appreciate the gesture." Depending on who gave him the flowers. "Is this about your birthday? Did you need me to buy you some flowers? Is that it?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm perfectly capable of buying myself flowers." Not that he would. Not that he'd go anywhere near the flower shop now that his favorite employee was MIA. "This is about you being paranoid about perfectly normal things."

Like, you know, sword throwing.

"Didn't the Devil's Nest have an ax throwing contest last week? I'm surprised you didn't plan a raid."

[hatesparadise]

"Pretty sure it got postponed because it was a dumb idea," Danny pointed out. "And I have a healthy level of caution about dumb ideas. It's the reason I'm still alive, thank you."

Not for lack of trying on Steve's part! Well. That wasn't true. Steve was only trying to get himself killed and was confused and touched when Danny was forced to chase after him.

[betterthanaplan]

"Hey, man, being an idiot is every man's prerogative," Duke said. "It's a free country. Even freer around here."

Caritas didn't even pretend to card.

[crimson_sister]

"You'll get used to it," Lucille said. "What are you doing on the island? Teaching?"

[hatesparadise]

"Next you're gonna tell me you don't believe in vaccinations, aren't you?" Danny asked, judging him hard. And he didn't even have an immune compromised kid yet!

That he knew of.