milliways_bar | (no subject)

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(no subject)

[OOM: Unnoticed]

Behrooz enters the bar, wearing a pair of sunglasses he removes almost immediately upon entering, though it looks dark on the other side of the door. He's carrying a bag that looks a little heavy with books, and heads immediately for the Bar, where he pulls out a wallet and pays what's left on his tab rather quickly, as well as for the sunglasses. He's rather glad to not have to rely on the anonymous benefactor anymore.

After this, he uses what's left in his wallet to have dinner, sliding the bag onto the floor.

He rather missed the food. And being to people watch without worrying someone will notice his eyes.

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Jack's standing at the bar grabbing a drink when he sees Behrooz come in from the door out of the bar and heads over.

"Hey, Behrooz. The bar finally let you out for a while?"

It takes Behrooz a moment to meet Jack's eyes, mostly because he's unused to doing it. He's not surprised to hear Jack's voice, though - smelling people before they came up had been an advantage on the outside.

"Yeah-" he looks up abruptly - "-it seems like I can go in and out again."

"That's good," he says with a small smile. "How are things outside?"

"Um."

Beat. "... ok, actually. Better than I... thought it'd be, the first time... going back. In a while."

"Not as big an adjustment?" he asks.

He shrugs. "Maybe I'm already used to... trying to not let people notice-"

There's a pause, and his eyes go down, clearly indicating what he means when he says, "-too much."

Jack tilts his head a little to the side. "No one noticed?"

"If anyone did, I'm pretty sure they thought they'd imagined it after a moment."

And he pauses to eat. Dining hall food somehow isn't the same. "I was... careful. They just thought I wore - these -" he gestures toward the sunglasses - "too much. Or that I was... distracted, a lot."

"True. People will ignore anything they don't want to see. But even in the day, when you weren't wearing them, they didn't say anything?"

"I did... wear them during the day."

Beat. "And at night. And... pretty much when I wasn't looking at something else. I ... already seem distracted with studying all the time. As long as I look at something that... isn't a book, once in a while, no one... cares."

Jack shrugs. "Maybe they figure college students usually have weird fashion choices?"

"That would be less like -" There's a weird pause here, in which he shuffles with two pronouns. Maybe he thinks Jack might understand when he ends with "-him."

He shakes his head, "Just... have to think of something before Witness Protection... sees."

He does; less like the persona Behrooz put up, the role he had to play.

"Yeah, that might get complicated. Have you asked Bar about trying coloured contacts?"

Behrooz fiddles with the sunglasses. "She... gave me these. I looked on the outside - it's... harder to get them - just as brown, you need a prescription for contacts, and most aren't made to cover eyes like... mine."

"Yeah. Do you have any idea how long you have until you'll see them again?"

"Probably... not until the end of the month," he sounds... mildly hopeful about this. "And it's just... the beginning of March, now."

Jack nods. "Well, there's some time at least. You'd think Bar would have something else to help, though."

"Maybe I'm supposed to figure it out."

He sounds a little annoyed by this idea.

"Sounds like the kind of thing Bar might do," he says, wryly. "But otherwise things are all right out there?"

"The same," he says, putting the sunglasses down and picking up his fork to play with his food again. "So... yes, it's all right."

Beat. "How're... you?"

"All right. It's only just turned to January for me, outside. It's a nice change to come in here and warm up."

Of course there's also the whole thing with Angie, but then Jack doesn't know if Behrooz already knows about that.

He does. And he's been nice about Jack to her the whole time, too! So... there!

Mostly out of curiosity, "What... year is it?"

"Sorry. 2012, as of about two weeks ago. What year are you in, again?"

"2012, too. I guess... you're just a few months behind me now."

"Yeah, sounds like it. How much time passed while you were out?"

"On the outside? Just... a few days. I didn't... want to be out very long."

He pauses. "I guess I don't know how much time passed here."

"Only a couple days, I think. Why, afraid you might miss something fun, here?" Jack asks, with a small smile.

He shrugs, "Just... curious, I guess."

Pause. Rather carefully, "Has... Angela - talked to you yet?"

"If you mean since she got back to the bar, then yes," he says, his smile fading, "If you mean more than once since she got back, then no. I keep missing her."

Still carefully, only sort of looking up at Jack, "I think... she thinks you're avoiding her."

"I'm not--I just haven't been able to find her. There are a few things we need to talk about; if you see her could you let her know?"

There's a small, rueful kind of smile on his face, though he's looking at his food, not Jack.

"Yeah, well, I think that's what I've been trying to do, so... "

"Yeah, well like I said. If you see her." Jack rubs his forehead for a moment then asks, "Have you had a chance to practice the piano outside, much?"

His eyes stay on his food. He nods, though.

"There's a practice hall. I just came from it."

"They let non-music students use the practice rooms--or are you taking a music course as an elective?"

"They don't care as long as the room isn't reserved," he says, playing with his food a little. "The place I'm going... isn't really known for music, anyway."

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