The Perk | Thursday Morning

[defenderofdesmoines]

So, Annie had spent the better part of a week as an energetic, friendly, blonde...dog. And while it hadn't been the worst (given that her personality aligned much better to 'golden retriever' than it had to, say, bat), she was still working on getting somewhat back in the swing of normal human things.

Like doing a normal human workout! And going to get normal, human coffee (with normal, human pumpkin spice in it.)

"So do you only give cups of whipped cream to dogs?" she asked the barista curiously, just, like, wondering.

And now she was going to go to a table with her coffee, chagrined by the look the barista gave her and not even bothering to go ahead and ask outright for a puppaccino for her normal, human self.

Even if it sounded really good, okay? This was probably more appropriate to sip on as she flicked through Citizen Starlight footage with one earbud in, anyway.

(And maybe she could make up with it by just ingesting straight whipped cream at home later, with only Diego to judge.)

[totally open!]

Comments

[firehousehimbo]

Buck had been in town long enough to know where the good coffee was, so he was here to get a PSL like the basic bitch he was.

He was a little distracted on his phone at first due to making sure the mask he bought for the party tomorrow was coming in on time, but did give Annie a smile and a little wave when he came in.

Sure, he didn't know her, but she was cute and he needed to get to know people in this town. Friendly neighborhood fireman and all.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"So did you show up in the last week while I was a dog, or am I getting worse about being observant around here?" Annie asked, raising her coffee in a salute to the new guy. "Also hi, it's a small town, new faces stand out."

Buck had probably noticed.

[firehousehimbo]

"I've been here for a couple weeks, so it's the second one," Buck said. "But I've been hiding out at the firehouse so don't beat yourself up over it."

[existencemisspent]

Oh, this one was adorable. If he'd been a first year at Brakebills, Eliot would have eaten him right up.

"You're like a bright eyed little puppy, aren't you."

Assuming he didn't make him flee immediately by being a fabulous mega-bitch, first.

[firehousehimbo]

Well, Eliot had kind of nailed it on the description so Buck couldn't even be mad. He was a little thrown off by the straightforwardness, however.

"Actually not the first time someone has told me that."

[mother_love]

Billy was still not quite accepting the fact that he might be stuck in this place longer than he wanted. And he was definitely not ready to accept that he might be spending the winter here rather than in the Bahamas like he had planned.

Yet there he was, standing at the counter ordering a huge hot and caffeinated coffee drink. As he turned from the counter, debating just heading back but deciding to sit and try and relax for a bit, he caught Annie's gaze and gave her a slight nod and smile.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"How long was I a dog?" Seriously, two people she hadn't met yet? (Though maybe this had less to do with the dog thing and more to do with being in New York part-time.)

Her question was rhetorical, though, since Annie returned the smile and even offered out a little wave to Billy. "Hi. Are you new? New people stick out around here like a sore thumb, sorry."

[mother_love]

Billy returned the wave with a slight nod.

"Yeah, been here a few weeks. Haven't gotten out all that much yet." Understatement much Billy, you had been hiding out on your boat most of the time.

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio had to admit, he had to do a little bit of a double take when he spotted Billy in the corner of his eye. For a second there, he thought maybe they'd put in some kind of mirror or something that he hadn't noticed before! But, no, that was definitely just some other guy.

There was definitely something weird and uncanny about this.

That was Fandom for you, though, he supposed...

[mother_love]

Billy had been enjoying the not at all sweet and sugary drink when he suddenly felt like he had eyes on him. After everything he had been through, both in Raccoon City and for the last few years in Mexico, he was quite aware of when he was being watched.

Glancing up he caught sight of someone sitting a few tables away.... and Billy froze. And stared. Ok this was weird, even for the last few weeks he had been on the island. Why was he sitting in this coffee shop looking at someone who could either be a near clone of himself or at the very least a long lost twin? (both of which he knew were nearly impossible but... still...)

[existencemisspent]

"Did I miss a memo that mullets were back in fashion? Though I suppose only for those beefy enough to defend their hair choices against all comers."

[mother_love]

Billy turned and considered the well dressed, though smaller, man standing nearby and felt the corner of his lips turn as he fought back a smirk.

"Easy to take care of when you don't have regular access to a barber" Billy offered, curious to see how that response went over, considering it was maybe half of the reason for his current look.

[sword_chocobro]

Since he was actually here and around, Gladio saw no reason why not to continue the potential trend of him staking out a spot in the coffee shop on Thursdays with a book and the type of latte that Ignis would turn his nose up at.

...a thought that only made him wonder if there would ever be a thing like Cup Noodle^TM flavored syrups here one day, like there had been Cup Noodle^TM sodas at the bar that one time...

Ahhh, but a man could dream, couldn't he?

For now, though, he'd happily settle for one of those PSLs, in the largest size they had, and offered up a lift of his chin or a polite nod in greeting to the other patrons on his way to claiming a table to crack open a book.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Do you guys not have Halloween in Insomnia?" Annie asked curiously as she peered over at the cover, totally willing to interrupt Gladio's reading. Why would you read in public if you didn't want to be interrupted? "Or are you just, like, being a big nerd about it?"

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio grinned over at Annie a little, because, yeah, definitely didn't mind being interrupted, and, if he did, that was his own damn fault, because it wasn't like he didn't have pretty much a whole floor of usually vacant offices up at the school he could just sequester himself in if he wanted to.

"Definitely nothing like it back home," he informed her. "Insomnia was made to help avoid daemons, and we kind of prefer it that way. But it is interesting stuff, I gotta give it that."

Must be nice, living in a world where all these spooks and scares were mostly make-believe.

"You a fan?"

[existencemisspent]

"Well, if it isn't the gladiator!" Eliot offered Gladio a small smile. "How have you been since the speed dating event?"

[sword_chocobro]

"And if it isn't..." Give him a second! It had been a while, but Gladio always prided himself in remembering things like names pretty well, even after a while, so he reached back into his memory to remember something about their dates that wasn't talking about swords, snapped his finger and pointed with a triumphantly confident smile as he said, "Eliot, right? And good! Real good, actually."

Hard to really complain when it involved a free vacation where he got his own room instead of having to share with three other dudes.

"How 'bout you? Haven't really seen you around as much as you'd think for such a small island, but, you know, I keep myself busy."

And on a different planet most of the time.

[onlyajones]

Jo had already had her normal hot cocoa yesterday but she decided to have a second one and start planning on the care package she was going to send home to her friend.

“Morning,” she smiled brightly as she made her way over to a table.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Morning! Jo, right?" Annie replied, waving from her table.

[existencemisspent]

There was still lots of party prep to be done, but while that included making sure fliers were distributing tastefully around and testing out drink recipes, when one was still building one's reputation in a place, it also included getting out and actually meeting the people you were hoping would show.

So when Eliot saw the crowd in the Perk, he swanned right on in.

"I see I'm not the only one craving caffeination this fine fall morning."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Who can resist the allure of pumpkin spice and actually being awake?" Annie asked in reply, smiling. "Holy crap, how many new people live here? I've been spending way too much time in New York."

Which was a sort of roundabout way of saying that she didn't recognize Eliot, but she was at least giving him a cheerful wave to couch that declaration.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded to Eliot, remembering him from when Margo had pointed him out at the bar. It was always nice to see someone else with a sense of fashion.

"Good morning. Eliot, yes? Margo mentioned you to me during our brief 'date' at the bar." He held out his hand. "Dr. Hannibal Lecter."

[sharp_man]

While Hannibal did have a very good coffee maker and cappuccino machine at home, it didn't mean that sometimes he didn't feel like getting out and having somebody else do the work.

So here he was, getting a double espresso and indulging in one of his (other) favorite pastimes - people watching.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Which meant that Annie gave the guy she vaguely recognized from the hole -- he'd had a whole house down there! -- a little wave and a lift of her coffee cup. "Morning."

[mother_love]

Billy had been sitting for a lot longer than he had planned on, but in a way it felt nice to be out and actually relax for a change. As he was finishing up his large and overly caffeinated drink he was about to get up and finally head out when he caught sight of the rather well-dressed man who had taken a seat nearby.

Billy offered a small wave in greeting as he consider the man for a moment. Screaming business and class, Billy couldn't help but wonder what had brought him to a small town place like this.