milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Some days are better than others, and some are far, far worse. Wells knew from the moment he woke up this morning that today was going to be one of the bad ones. That's why he slipped away from Annie while she still slept, and why he came here. Oh, sure, he could pummel the heavy bag in his basement, he got one of those a while ago just in case- but he'd be stuck indoors with the knowledge that a city of fourteen million was waiting overhead somewhere. Better to head to Milliways. The bag's outside, for one thing, and the people are a whole lot fewer. He can take company, especially now that he's been working on the bag a good half hour or more. It's just that it goes down far, far better in small doses today.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well enough. Plenty of time to work on my projects, and that's all I can really ask. And you?"

"Going fucking mad 'cos I'm surrounded by fourteen million people, and maybe- maybe- a million of 'em have any sense," Wells says. "But we've got a house lined up in the country once the baby's born and Phils is settled in with her, so it won't last forever."

"If I still had access to where I came from", Mr. Universe says apologetically, "it was a lot quieter there. Outside of the black room anyway. Which is kind of what you'd expect, with me being the only person who lived there, and all."

"Wouldn't've helped, lad," Wells says. "Not unless your place was open, and maybe green. I don't do as well as I used to with bein' surrounded by walls all the time."

He pauses, considering.

"Where'd you live, anyway?"

"Now, or before? Now, in a room upstairs. Before, on a little moon I found my way to by the name of Jethro."

He's buried on it.

"I meant before," Wells says, but he nods. "Right, then. If it's anything like Callisto, it's not the sort of place you'd want to be outdoors in."

He wouldn't even know that if it weren't for Ace.

"I can't say I've ever been to Callisto, but it wasn't much of a planet, no. Space to walk around outside, but not much in the way of green."

It's not like he ever went outside.

"You're not missing much," Wells says. "Frozen rathole, that place. I dunno if anyone's willing to live there but the miners. Hell of a view, though- you can't not see Jupiter in the sky."

"...huh. That sounds like a Rim planet, but even the Rim's not close enough to Sol to see Jupiter, as far as I'm aware. Different universe?"

"Probably, yeah," Wells says. "This Callisto's the moon of Jupiter. You know Andrew Wells at all? We're cousins. I'm from his world."

"We've met, yes. He took me to where I needed to be to set up your bank accounts, you remember?"

"Ah, right, my apologies. That was a few years back, for me."

"Time works so strangely here. Very disconcerting."

"Could be worse, I suppose," Wells says. "Though it's a bit hard to think of how. And that's not an invitation for you to do it, either."

He stops in mid-word, with a sheepish grin.

"I probably could think of a few ways. But in deference to you..."

"Thank you," Wells says severely, but then smiles. "Know what you mean, though. Weirder than Narnia, so it is."

"At least time still seems to work the way it should between here and my universe."

"Yeah? That's a relief," Wells says. "Had an offer of some farm work in your universe a while back. Once my grandchild's born, obviously."

"Oh yeah? On whose farm?"

He doesn't know of anyone there except the Serenity crew.

"Mrs. Reynolds'. Some planet called Shadow, with one moon."

"Captain Reynolds' mother? Shiny."

"Yeah, and I'd take it if I didn't have to turn up on Earth every three days to stick my finger in the device," Wells says wryly.

Mr. Universe considers this.

"I suppose the time issue makes it too difficult for you to just come back through the bar every three days?"

"Little problem with me opening the door and oh, look, there's London."

"...very good point. But if Mrs. Reynolds helped...?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only