milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Angel's in the bar, over by the fireplace - he was outside for a while this afternoon, after all, despite his issues with cold. It was worth it to find out what the hell Mark was up to, though.
Anyway, now he's inside, and... not doing much of anything, actually. It's been a long couple of weeks, and now he doesn't have to worry about his best friend being off his rocker.
Time for a break.

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There's a visible invisible man lounging comfortably on the couches.

Well, comfortable for him. It looks rather like someone threw him on there as his limbs hang haphazardly all over the couch.

He is, however, reading Philosophy Now and tapping to a mental beat.

If he wants to talk philosophy, he's got the wrong member of the Rent contingent; Angel can mostly hold his own, but Collins knows a hell of a lot more.
But if he just wants to talk...
"Not stuck over there, are you?"
He's also welcome to take a stab at that fuzzy gender line thing.

...if you've ever seen anything Darien wears, you'll wonder at his own gender line.

Bellbottoms, Darien? I mean, you have the figure to pull it off, but--

He perks up from behind his magazine, blinking at Angel for a moment before smiling and shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm all right."

He tips his chin towards Angel, a question. Have I met you before?

...there was a version of him from his future who was in here originally. It makes things interesting now.

"You new, or have we just not run into each other yet?"
...That'd be a no, they didn't meet in Darien's future. (In fact, Angel may not have made it to the bar until after that.)

Probably not, but he's never sure.

"Pretty new and I kinda, uh, keep to myself."

Or rather, his room. There's a naked Charlie in there often enough to keep things interesting.

Either way, he sits up and holds out a hand.

"Darien Fawkes."

He grins at Angel.

"Angel. To borrow the Lilly Kane approach to greetings, dead, New York City, Earth, 1997. Nice to meet you." Angel grins as well, and returns the handshake.

He shrugs.

"San Diego, California. Earth. 2000. A pleasure."

He nods.

"So, uh, you new here as well?"

"Nah. Been here just short of a year, now."

"Well, uh, no. Definitely not new then."

He looks around.

"You, uh, you dead or living?"

Someone missed part of the introduction. But that's all right.
"Dead. Had time to get used to the idea, though, and there're worse places to end up, I'm sure."

~~His mun did as she needs to sleep, but he won't shut up and thus she types~~.

He scratches the back of his head.

"Think you said that the first time but I'm still getting used to it."

~~This mun knows the feeling. No worries.~~
"I think showing up dead made it a little easier to adjust to everything else that's up with this place. I mean, magical bar? Being greeted by Snow White? No problem."

"You got greeted by Snow White? Was she with any particularly vertically challenged people?"

...Darien has a talent for asking the troublesome questions and mentioning exactly what he shouldn't. Best it was around Angel and not Snow.

"I wouldn't know from experience, but I've heard asking her about the dwarves is a very bad idea. Think that's one of the unofficial rules around here, even."

He nods, taking that in before shaking his head with a laugh.

"Yeah, I could, uh, see where that might be a sore point. Got any other rules I should know about? Cause I've got just about the crappiest luck you could ask for."

"You been here long enough to get the main set?"

"Got it my first time in. Or, uh, my second time in but the first time that I remember."

"...Bar playing games with time again?"

He sips on his beer and nods.

"Yeah. Uh, according to some people here, I came here sometime in my future a few months back. I mean, it's nice walking in, 'everybody knows your name' and everything, but kinda creepy."

Angel shakes his head. "I really don't understand this place sometimes. For what it's worth, though, I don't remember meeting you before, so I must've missed that."

"Good to know,"

He tips the bottle back and takes a long pull.

"Kinda makes you wonder what I screwed up that I had to come back and start over again or something. Though, uh, my brother coming here was a nice surprise."

"Maybe there is no reason. Bar's done weirder shit before, and I'm sure it will again."
Referring more to the establishment than the sentient countertop, though both work.

"Hey, this place gave me my brother back. As far as I'm concerned, this place could dress me up like Carmen Miranda and I'd still drink to it."

Kev...meant a hell of a lot.

"Got a feeling some of my friends might agree with that sentiment."
Hey, if Mark was willing to spend a week dead so Angel could go back to their world for a while...

"I don't have much family, and almost none of it left. And Kevin's..."

There aren't really words for what his brother means to him. They've fought and bickered and hated one another at times, but through it all, they were always there for the other.

Always.

"Glad you got him back, then. My family hasn't really been a biological matter for a while now, so I can't quite claim the same sentiment. In general, though, that's where my friends come into it."

He shrugs.

He's always been something of a loner, though not really by choice. He'd been close to his Mother, but then she'd died. Closest to his brother but...they had their differences. He'd never been close to his uncle and aunt, but that was more because their uncle was more interested in Kevin's genius.

He liked friends. He just didn't usually get to have them.

"Sounds nice."

"It is, yeah. Especially since most of 'em have found their way here by now."

He smirks.

"Sometimes that can be good and bad, though I guess if you're dead it's mostly good."

"With the possible exception of having to chase one out so she didn't end up dead... it's been good, yeah."

Eyebrow raise.

"It's complicated - found out from another friend that she nearly died, and when she came back around said I'd told her to turn around. And it turned out she'd meant here."
Angel shrugs.

"Nice," and there's both sarcasm and sympathy.

"She found her way back here after that - haven't seen her around much, but she's at least been. It's better than nothing, in its way."

"Most things are." he agrees.

And because it does have to come up...

"So are you one of the ones who wears a dress because you like it and still consider yourself a guy or one of the ones who feel like they're a woman in a man's body and like female pronouns?"

Angel grins. "The former. But use whichever pronoun makes you feel more comfortable. It's not that big of a deal."

He shrugs.

"Doesn't really bother me any. Not like I'm walking the straight and narrow either."

Aw...

That's a dopey grin.

He's thinking of Charlie.

"I know that smile. Who is he?"
Granted, Angel knows that smile from experience, so all is well.

He grins at Angel.

"You know Charlie?"

There's only one Charlie in his mind, and anyone who knew anything would think of the right one first off. Charlie just had that...

...okay, he's gone on him. There you go.

One finger rubs at a certain ring.

"...Really. I didn't know he'd found someone! Clearly we need to catch up." Angel grins.

He nods.

"Bout a month now."

Doooofey grin.

"And even though my life sucks, I've never been so damn happy in my life."

Collins silently wraps himself around Angel....there. The most uncreative tag EVAR!

Who said it needed creativity?
Angel smiles. "You missed a hell of a lot this time, honey."

"Oh did I? Is this a good missed or bad missed?"

He smooches.

"It's... I think it's a good thing you missed it. at least at the end. You ever read Soul Music?"
This would be Angel trying to figure out just how much Mark spread his penchant for crazy British fantasy. It'll make things easier to explain, possibly.

"Not really...too busy reprogramming stuff at MIT..."

He shrugs.

"It's a pretty good book. But... well, it's a lot funnier when the book's sentient, semi-parasitic variation on rock and roll isn't in here and driving half the bar batshit. Including Mark."
And some of the flail from yesterday reconstitutes itself - not all, since the problem's gone, but still. "He thought he was me, yesterday afternoon. And vice versa. That was. I don't even know where to start."

Collins kisses once again,

"Then maybe you shouldn't start? There are some things that are best left unexplained..."

Kissing is good.
"That might be for the best, then. Words defy it."
It's Angel's considered opinion that there should be more kissing right about now. So there is.

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