JGOB's, Friday Morning

[weirderthanthou]

It'd been a while since the last time Jesse had a nice, warm, glazed pastry of some kind. So long that she hadn't actually thought about getting one until she'd woken up that morning, staring at a dead phone, and rolled out of bed.

"I'll just take the cinnamon roll," she said, pointing. "And... hm, that brownie. And do you have...?"

The woman behind the counter smiled at her. "First time back from the apocalypse?" she guessed.

Jesse let out a soft huff of a laugh. "No," she said. "Just craving sugar."

"Mhm."

[[ open ]]

Comments

[justice_undone]

Breq wasn't craving sugar. She just thought she should have some sweet things at home for her baby lieutenant roommate.

She was going to try them, of course.

Face expressionless, she looked at the pastries on display.

[weirderthanthou]

Jesse glanced her way, mouth curving into the beginnings of a polite smile.

Then she took her bag of pastries off the counter.

[justice_undone]

Breq tried to smile back, even if she knew she didn't quite get it right.

"So, no apocalypse?"

[weirderthanthou]

"No apocalypse," Jesse said. She honestly hadn't even expected Breq to say anything. "I just got a little absorbed in my work for a while, so I haven't had the chance to treat myself."

[justice_undone]

"What do you do?," Breq said, ordering a couple of biscuits that she knew Tisarwat liked.

[weirderthanthou]

"I'm the mayor, as of a little over a week ago," Jesse said wryly. "Apparently that happens here."

[justice_undone]

"It does," Breq said. "I ended up going to school when I first arrived. It was unexpected."

To say the least.

[weirderthanthou]

"'Unexpected' seems to be the experience everyone I've talked to has," Jesse said. "You weren't going to school where you came from?"

[justice_undone]

"No," Breq said. "Now I'm running the music store though. I didn't used to do that either."

[weirderthanthou]

"That's pretty cool," Jesse said, tilting her head. "You like it?"

[justice_undone]

"More than I expected to," Breq said. "I've always been interested in music."

She added: "Are you?"

[weirderthanthou]

"I have a weak spot for the 80s," Jesse admitted, mouth quirking. "Synthpop, synthwave, wacky metal stuff. I'm not as good with modern stuff."

[justice_undone]

Had Breq been someone whose feelings was visible on her face, she would have looked a little enthusiastic. As it was, she tried to smile and said:

"I've listened to some songs from that time. Do you have any favourites?"

[weirderthanthou]

"You're going to think I'm weird," Jesse said, looking a little sheepish.

[justice_undone]

"Probably not," Breq said.

[weirderthanthou]

"So I meant it that I like the synthwave classics. Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, that kind of thing," Jesse said, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. "But I also kind of like the other, weirder Jacksons? And uh... glam rock, like Mud, Mott the Hoople and Suzi Quatro?"

A beat.

"I could never get into Bowie, though," she ventured.

[justice_undone]

"I like Bowie," Breq said. "But I can't see why I would think your taste in music weird."

[weirderthanthou]

Jesse shrugged. "I don't meet a lot of people who listen to the same stuff," she said.

[justice_undone]

"Do you play any instruments?" Breq asked.

[weirderthanthou]

"I thought about picking up the bass for a while, but I moved around a lot. Seemed like asking for trouble bringing an instrument along," Jesse said. Especially after breaking the first one. "Do you?"

She glanced towards an empty table.

[justice_undone]

"I play the bass a little and just picked up a guitar," Breq said. "I'm selling them after all."

Looking in the direction of the table, she added:

"Want to sit down for a while? Maybe a cup of tea?"

[weirderthanthou]

"I'd like that," Jesse said. "Though I'm more of a coffee person."

Please don't be weird about tea.

[justice_undone]

"Of course, that's more popular here."

She ordered tea, specifying only "No milk and sugar".

[weirderthanthou]

"And I'll have a big coffee," Jesse threw in. "Uhh, grande?"

She glanced at Breq. "Some people around here get really worked up about their tea, I'm sorry."

[justice_undone]

Breq could guess who.

"More to do with personality than with tea."

She tried smiling.

[weirderthanthou]

Well, someone's not really used to doing that.

"I had a feeling," Jesse said wryly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to assume. She was just-- very judgy about it."

[justice_undone]

"Not even all Radchaai are," Breq said. "My roommate Tisarwat is fussy about tea, but not judgy."

Or at least she had better manners.

[weirderthanthou]

"I guess everywhere has their thing," Jesse said, taking her big cup from the barista. "I mean, I didn't realize it could be tea, but I guess it makes sense."

For a moment she lingered on what a tea-related Altered Object would be like. No, scratch that, I don't want to think about it.

[justice_undone]

"Most people do have their thing, yes," Breq said.

She knew that from two millennia of experience.

"You're from Earth?"

[weirderthanthou]

"Wisconsin, to be exact," Jesse said. "And... you're not."

[justice_undone]

"No," Breq said. "I'm from a different universe. Space travel, many different planets, more advanced technology and all that."