milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Ex-hellraiser rockstar in the bar, with one daughter on his shoulders and the other in his arms, not being up to walking or balancing on her own yet.

He gets them a table and drinks, and looks around for someone to talk to.

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"Wow." Her smile widens. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, we're... pretty proud of her." He grins. "So how've you been?"

"I'm okay. It's been a quiet few months, for once."

"And quiet's got to be good, right?" he says with a smile, touching the wood of the table almost unconsciously with his free hand.

She laughs. "It's nice while it lasts, anyway." She gestures at the bar around them. "As much as I like this place, it makes life a lot more exciting when you're living in it."

"So do a lot of people's worlds, from what I've heard. But Milliways is definitely one of them."

"Isn't that the truth. Isn't there a Chinese curse like that? 'May you live in interesting times?'"

"There is indeed. I think we had that one written on the wall, back in the band days."

"Which band was that?"

"Driveshaft", he says with a wry grin. "My brother's and my band, once upon a time."

"What'd you play? Like, which instrument?"

"I was the singer", he says, smile turning reminiscent, though still with that wry twist. "Charlie played bass and wrote the songs."

"That's really cool."

She gives him a speculative look. "Do you miss it?"

"I miss what was good about it", he says honestly. "Never found anything as good as performing, except Karen and the kids."

Megan giggles and kicks his shoulders lightly.

She grins at Megan, and replies with sincerity, "There's glowing praise if I've heard it."

Megan grins back. Liam smiles slightly and says, "I don't know where I'd be without them. Nowhere good."

'Dead' is a distinct possibility.

"That's what family's for," Nita agrees.

Beat, then she adds, more quietly, "For us lucky ones, anyway."

He looks at her curiously. "You know, I don't think you told me much about your family, before."

She smiles, but it's sad.

"There's me, and my bratty younger sister, and my dad. Mom died about a year ago." A gesture at the bar. "And then there's the people I've adopted around here."

Liam's own smile fades a little.

"Sorry to hear that. But it sounds like you're doing pretty well."

"Thanks."

She shrugs. "I guess so. I -- it'll never stop being hard, but at least I can deal with it."

"It does get easier", he tells her quietly, with an absent stroke to Megan's ankle. "Not completely, but it does. I promise."

"People keep telling me that." She smiles slightly. "It seems to be true."

"Good", he says with a smile in return. "Helps when you're not alone, of course."

She's a good kid, he knows for sure. He wants to remind her of that.

"It does. Like I said -- that's what family's for."

Liam nods, decisively.

"Agreed."

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