The Perk, Tuesday Afternoon

[pocketpretzels]

Yes, they had a perfectly good coffee maker at home. But sometimes a man needed more than just a coffee. Some days the addition of chocolate was required. And yes, he’d tried just dumping a handful of chocolate chips into regular coffee- it wasn’t the same.

Hence, here he was at the Perk with his mocha and a muffin, a stack of papers spread out in front of him that he was perusing as he ate.

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

Marc had had his own shit to deal with but once done it was easier to grab a coffee at the Perk than anywhere else. He hadn't known Watts would be there at the same time but that was certainly better than a lot of other options, like crazed people invading the place from the mainland.

"Hey," he said, while waiting on his order.

[pocketpretzels]

“Marc,” Watts replied, looking up. “How’s your day been?”

[hasaknightjob]

"All right," Marc said. He got his coffee and a sandwich for a late lunch and came over. "Things should be fine with you and Steven next week. Layla says nothing extra weird is going on."

Compared to the normal level of weird that was day to day life on their world.

[pocketpretzels]

“The ‘extra’ of course, needing to be specified,” Watts said drily.

[hasaknightjob]

"I'm asking somebody who talks to a hippo on the regular, so..." Marc shrugged. "It's our home, there's always some bullshit."

[pocketpretzels]

“You know, I have noticed that.”

Bold words for someone from a canon where the main characters regularly tripped over dead bodies while going about their day.

[hasaknightjob]

"Still feel like moving there at some point?" Marc asked.

[pocketpretzels]

“As opposed to what?” Watts said. “Staying here forever? Where there’s arguably just as much ‘crazy shit’ going on?”

[hasaknightjob]

Marc opened his mouth to protest, but then he thought of all the things that had happened on the island so far.

"Okay, fair point. Sometimes back home isn't so bad."

Sure sometimes half the population vanished, but on the other hand nobody turned into ponies.

[pocketpretzels]

“It’s all a matter of comparison. Where I’m from, for example, is completely out of the question. For a lot of reasons.”

[hasaknightjob]

Marc gave a salute with his coffee mug because, well, yeah.

"Think you'll ever go back at all?"

You know, in case Marc needed to keep an eye out for people trying to shoot Watts again.

[pocketpretzels]

“Perhaps for short visits?” Watts said with a shrug, tearing a piece off his muffin. “There are- individuals- that I miss from time to time.”

[hasaknightjob]

"Cutting ties is a lot easier," Marc said. But Watts would probably know he was joking.

You know, for Marc.

[pocketpretzels]

“Yes, of that I am certainly aware.”

Seeing as he was usually on the other end of that equation.

[hasaknightjob]

"Just saying." Marc shrugged it off. "But I get it. You're better than me with that shit."

Understatement of the year considering most people were better than Marc at maintaining anything vaguely resembling a connection to others.

"Well I got your back when you do."

[pocketpretzels]

Well he was pretty much stuck with Watts for good at this point, so… deal with that, Marc.

“That is appreciated. Hopefully unnecessary, but appreciated all the same.”

[hasaknightjob]

Yeah but that was a side effect of Steven being good at it. Nothing Marc had done, obviously.

"Wasn't supposed to be last time either," Marc pointed out, because he didn't realize Watts came from one of the murder capitals of the multiverse. "I'm just saying."

[pocketpretzels]

Oh, no, certainly not.

“I am hoping that was an aberration and not the start of a pattern.”

[hasaknightjob]

"Good, because we're not getting you your own suit," Marc said. He grimaced. "You don't want one."

[pocketpretzels]

“Unless there is an avatar whose sole purpose is to solve mysteries, I would also be terrible at the job,” Watts pointed out. “A fighter I am not.”

And he didn’t have Steven’s method of cheating regarding that, either.

[hasaknightjob]

"You know Steven could probably figure out the answer to that, right?" Marc asked. "Some fucking god in charge of mysteries?"

Hell, maybe Marc had even been told once. But don't expect him to remember.

[pocketpretzels]

“If anyone knew, it would be him,” Watts acknowledged. “But that is a question I am all right with leaving unanswered, to be honest.”

[hasaknightjob]

"For the best," Marc said. "Even the nice ones are a pain in the ass."

Just ask Layla.

[pocketpretzels]

"I work best without someone hovering over my shoulder," Watts agreed.

Steven keeping him company while he baked was not hovering, for the record, but entirely welcome.

[hasaknightjob]

"Yeah, I'm outta luck on that one even if Khonshu's not around," Marc said. Because also: Steven. But Marc was more making a show of grumping about it than anything.

[pocketpretzels]

"At least you can be sure he has your best interests at heart," Watts said. Even if their ideas of what those were didn't always line up.

[hasaknightjob]

"Sometimes just as annoying though," Marc said, still grumping.

I can hear you, you know.

"I know you can hear me," Marc said. He gestured at his head so Watts would know Steven had chimed in.

[pocketpretzels]

Watts was just going to hide his smirk with a conveniently-timed sip of his drink.

[hasaknightjob]

"You find it charming," Marc said.

Of course this protest worked better with someone who didn't have fairly good awareness that Marc actually appreciated Steven's persistence.

[pocketpretzels]

"Very much so," Watts agreed.

And yeah, he knew you liked it too, Marc.

[hasaknightjob]

"He's your problem now," Marc said.

Steven was very much not just Watts's problem.

[pocketpretzels]

"Says the man who shares a body with him."

[hasaknightjob]

"Distract him then," Marc said.

[pocketpretzels]

"We're going to spend a week in Barbados," Watts pointed out. That was bound to be very distracting!

Possibly not quite what Marc meant, but pssht.

[hasaknightjob]

There was a brief flicker on Marc's face as he was aware of what fell in the middle of that vacation.

"You should be left alone, at least," Marc said.

Not like anybody had been trying to get in touch this year anyway.

[pocketpretzels]

Something akin to sympathy likewise briefly appeared on Watts's face.

"So I gather," he nodded, since Steven had confirmed the other day that indeed there had been no calls.

[hasaknightjob]

"I'll turn my phone off," Marc said. "Anything you two would need to know about, those people can call Steven if they have to. Layla and Crawley."

[pocketpretzels]

"Is it rude to say I hope we do not hear from either of them, at least during that period of time?" Watts wondered.

[hasaknightjob]

"If they're calling it's an emergency," Marc said. "So nah. Hopefully not."