milliways_bar | (no subject)

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The specials show up on the board the minute he gets there. Bartending's fun -- at least he had fun the last time he was back here -- and if nothing else, he'll have paid off that new set of clothes Bar gave him after his trip to Ellen's world. The last thing he wants is to be known as some kind of freeloader. He's always paid his way, ever since he was seventeen and found himself alone, and there's no reason he'd stop doing it just 'cause he's stuck here.

Tonight's Specials

Easy Action
Between the Sheets
A Goodnight Kiss

The specials make him laugh but hey, they're kind of appropriate and at least they go in progression. He adds one more thing to the board before setting up shop for the duration:

Pyramid advice & info always free

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"It was a long time ago." Half his life ago by now, and while it's clearly been a defining factor in making him who he is, he's been independent for... for years.

Dinah's a lot younger than he is, and her wound is a lot more fresh. "It never goes away, but it gets more bearable, I can promise you that." It's no lie -- he remembers how acute the pain was when he got the word, how torn up he was, how much he had to figure out without their guidance -- but it was a long time ago. He still loves his parents, no question about it. They were great, and losing them was awful.

But by now it is what it is, or what it was.

"I used to talk to my dad all the time about playing pyramid. When I was little, I was such an armchair critic. He was originally from Caprica and he watched the C-Bucs, but I was born on Picon so I was a Panthers fan. I used to rag on the C-Bucs all the time, all the godsdamn time. One day he told me if I didn't like the way things were, it was up to me to change it. I told him I would."

Yeah. He nods, a little wistfully.

"I guess he'd be proud of me for living up to that promise."

She knows it gets bearable, at least. It's been a long five years and she's lived the recovery.

And now, she smiles, not wanting to get too deep into maudlin when she's nearly two drinks down.

"You sure it was that and not that the Panthers wouldn't take you?"

Ha. That's the spirit.

"Oh, the Panthers wanted me. Got drafted right out of college by the Sagittaron Archers in the first round. They traded me to the Leonis Wildcats for their next two picks and cash, and the rep for the Wildcats told me the Panthers were angling for me but they weren't gonna budge. They needed a big forward guard, the Panthers, but so did the Wildcats and they had me. That was a great place to play."

And after that, by the time Leonis put him on the trading block, he was way out of the Panthers' budget.

"Pro sports." His shrug is idle enough, but tinged with pride. He could talk about the shit that goes on behind the scenes in pyramid for weeks without getting tired.

Dinah also shrugs, shaking her head.

"Team sports. Ted never had to worry about this."

He's gotta laugh. Point made, at least.

"I don't have to worry about it any more. Only about kicking your team's ass, and Team One's ass. Just because I'm not getting paid to do it doesn't mean I won't."

Yeah, a little friendly rivalry's always a good thing, especially in pyramid.

"It's true," Dinah says. "That with just two other teams, your problems just got so much worse."

Her team is awesome. It's fact.

All he does in response is smile.

It's kind of a dangerous smile, or so he's been told, when he gets stubborn enough to show it. And much more effective when it goes unaccompanied by words.

But he's bartending, and he lets the smile just sit for a while before he cheerfully takes a swig of his water.

"So. Between the Sheets. Thumbs up or thumbs down on it?"

"Up," Dinah says. "Way up. You do good Between the Sheets."

And that's Justice League approved.

"But how is your goodnight kiss?"

"Never had any complaints about that either. But let's try it and find out."

The drink, he means, and this one seems more precise from the instructions. He places a single cube of sugar in the flute, adds a drop of bitters to it -- just one, that's all the recipe calls for -- and then fills the thing with champagne and a splash (just like it says) of Campari, which reminds him a whole lot of Juni Red.

He might have to try one of these himself sometime.

"Here you go. Now you can boast you went through the whole night's experience."

Dinah swaps her empty glass for the full one.

"Oh, this is going in the trophy room," she teases.

For all her willing complicity in tonight's specials, Dinah gets a wink. "You let me know if it gets any attention, okay?"

One more time, he clears away the empty glass. Three drinks. With some people they'd serve as promises, but with others they're just good fun. Dinah, she's fun. He's liked her from the start and she's one of those people here that he'd do just about anything for.

Just about. Even if he won't let her win at pyramid, at least not intentionally.

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