milliways_bar | (no subject)

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It's a quiet day in Central City. No dead bodies have dropped to call Barry into his day job, and a quick zip around the city yields only a mugger and one jaywalker who would've been pancaked by a garbage truck if 'The Streak' hadn't been there to rush him to the safety of the sidewalk.

(Seriously, he needs a better superhero name.)

With things so chill at home Barry is glad when he finds Milliways in his apartment. He was looking for something to eat, but the fridge and cupboards in his place are bare.

Obviously it's time for him to join Costco or something, but in the meantime...

"Hey, Bar," he greets the counter, sliding onto a stool wearing blue jeans and a sweatshirt. "Can I get a-- "

A platter appears with deli meats and cheeses all cut down to fit on the accompanying Ritz crackers. It's the type of tray usually made to feed small armies of party guests.

"--snack."

Barry grins and while he starts assembling cracker sandwiches, Bar produces a chocolate milkshake; which earns a wary glance from Barry, but he soon discovers this one isn't a protein ruse.

[ooc: Here all day, and this will be open through the weekend.]

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"How do things not leak through, then?" Chirrut asks curiously as he collects his mug of tea. He's not sure how such a thing would work, though he's generally in favor of food that can be eaten on the run.

Just ask any member of the kitchen staff of the temple. He was a bit ridiculous over the years.

"Yeah, they're Ritz, it's a brand where I'm from. You can try some if you like," he offers. There's plenty, and Bar always seems happy to provide more when needed.

"These ones aren't great for anything runny," he replies to Chirrut. "But they're kind of perfect for snacking."

As he speaks he puts together a quick sandwich using two of the crackers, a piece of ham and cheddar to show as an example to the bigger man.

"Thank you," Baze says, pleased that this polite teenager is addressing Chirrut directly--not to mention showing Baze how the food is supposed to work. Baze describes the sandwich to Chirrut, making a not-very-educated guess as to what the meat and cheese actually are. "I think that's Ahto City cheese and gorrunt meat. They're little squares and circles, and fit on top of the cracker just so."

He grins at Barry. "Do you put a meat and cheese on each one, or do you just eat the crackers sometimes?"

A cracker has found its way into Chirrut's hand. Of course he has no idea how that happened. Just like he has no idea how various snacks disappeared from the kitchens over the years. He nibbles on it, since he has it, but the nibbles quickly turn into wolfing it down.

"They're rich! People eat these for snacks?"

He tilts his head, gorrunt doesn't sound like the most appetizing thing.

"Actually it's uh, cheddar, Monterey Jack, I think, and Swiss cheese," he says, pointing them out as he goes along. "And turkey, ham, pepperoni and salami."

Finishing his sandwich, he puts another together, this time using a piece of everything.

"It's kind of however you want it. That's what's great about the spread," he replies, then adds with a chuckle, "Of course, that's what's dangerous about it, too. They're supposed to be for snacking, but it's not hard to just keep eating until you're full."

"The cheddar is yellow and square, the Monterey Jack is yellow and white and also square, and the Swiss is white with holes in it," Baze informs Chirrut, plucking up one of the buttery crackers to try for himself, and thanking Barry for it. "The turkey is pink and circular, the ham is a darker pink and also circular, the pepperoni is red and, again, circular, and the salami is red with white spots and bigger than the pepperoni."

He nibbles on the cracker more delicately than a man his size really should, but, like Chirrut, this soon turns into stuffing it in his mouth. "These really are good! Thank you," he says, beaming at Barry. "Turkey--that's a kind of bird, right? What sorts of meats are the ham, pepperoni, and salami?"

"You have many tube-like creatures in your world." Chirrut marvels, curiously ghosting a hand over the spread and picking a piece. It tragically isn't meat, but he'll eat a piece of Monterey Jack anyway.

"Yeah, turkeys are birds, the others are pork, and I think beef in the pepperoni and salami," he answers about the meats.

"Oh, they don't start out this way. They're processed and um, cut to fit?" he replies, then wonders if maybe Chirrut isn't kidding. Barry can't always tell when people are messing with him.

"Where are you guys from?" he asks.

Watching Chirrut, Barry wipes off his hands and puts together another sandwich. "Check it, I've been eating Lunchables since I was a like six, so I'm basically an expert. Try this one, it's ham and cheddar."

He holds the sandwich out, pinched between this thumb and forefinger, looking to Baze for maybe some help letting Chirrut know Barry's holding it out for him.

Baze simply takes the sandwich in between his own, meaty fingers, and passes it to Chirrut, offering Barry a grateful smile.

"We have certain beefs in our galaxy, but I'm fairly certain it's not the same animal that you're talking about," Baze says, chuckling. He plucks up another cracker and rolls it between his fingers before shoving it into his mouth. "We're from Jedha, a moon orbiting NaJedha, in the Terrabe sector. I assume you're from an Earth, like everyone else?"

"That," Chirrut chides, his mouth full of ham and cheddar, "Is rude, you can't assume they're all Earthers." After giving Baze the shoulder-check he's so richly earned, Chirrut grins at Barry (or rather, at a point over Barry's left shoulder).

"You're right, this is a great combination - what else works together?"

"Yeah, I'm from Earth. It does seem like a lot of people are," Barry says with a nod, smiling at the exchange between the pair. "I live in a place called Central City."

It's pretty cool to talk to people not from Earth, as Barry hasn't actually met many.

"That ones probably my favorite," he says, indicating the ham and cheddar, "but here, try turkey and Swiss, it's pretty good, too."

He puts the sandwich together and again holds it out.

Baze passes the turkey and Swiss sandwich to Chirrut, again pleased to be a part of this process--or, rather, that the process is happening at all. Hs adores that Barry is including Chirrut, not to mention feeding him. Yes, this is most excellent.

"What county are you from?" Baze says, beaming at Barry. "I've heard of Germany, France, and Japan. On Jedha, there was really only the holy city. Your planet seem very crowded."

Chirrut appreciates being fed in general, and is in no way going to protest this process.

"I agree, the ham and cheddar is much better." He notes after wolfing down the second sandwich. Clearly, now Chirrut is a culinary expert in Earthen foods.

"Tsch" Chirrut huffs again, elbowing Baze. "It's not the boy's fault they haven't learned how to travel. Besides, it could be a very large planet."

"I'm from the United States," he says, putting together another assembly for himself. "Earth isn't very large comparably to the rest of the planets in our solar system, but where I'm from it isn't overly crowded."

Central City is large, but it's not the chaos of say, New York City.

"Is there really only one city on your moon? How big is it? I mean, I assume it has to be fairly large for people to live there if it's got an atmosphere." His eyes widen then, and he gets a little excited, "Or is it colonized? I mean, like, domes, or some sort of other artificial atmosphere?"

Baze's expression tightens, but only for a moment. His chest shudders as he takes a breath--and then he's all right again.

"The city... was... large," he says. He can't say "is," anymore. "Millions of people. There were desert wanderers--the whole moon was a desert, with a permanent winter--and some settlers, but most of the people lived in the city. And yes, we had atmosphere that was breathable. There used to be a lot of pilgrims coming to the Temple of the Kyber."

His eyes grow a little teary, but he manages to blink the water away before it falls.

Chirrut slings an arm around Baze's shoulders, holding tight. He knows, he knows, the pain of it would drive him to his knees if he let it.

"Pilgrims from all over the galaxy, if that helps - not just local species." He adds, helpfully.

Barry's expression shifts, his smile turning into a look of concern.

"Was? What happened?" he asks, a moment later realizing maybe he shouldn't have. It may not be something they want to talk about.

"I'm sorry, if you guys would rather not-- I don't mean to pry."

Baze glances to Chirrut. How much will telling a stranger about home break him?

"There was... a weapon," Baze says, the words sour and choked in his mouth. "A planet killer. The Empire... They destroyed the whole city."

Tears well in earnest in Baze's eyes, and he wipes them away with his taped-up thumbs.

"Even if we could return to Jedha..." He shrugs, the movement too large for his narrow frame. "She isn't a home any longer - she's a battle cry."

Barry's brow furrows as he listens, both troubled and wondering why the story sounds familiar.

"But why would they do that? That's-- " he casts about for an adjective, but there isn't one to describe how horrific and evil an act like that is. "It's inhuman. I'm so sorry."

His attention turns to Chirrut on his words, and Barry frowns. "You can't go back? Are you both, um... " Dead is the word, but he can't quite say it.

But Baze answers the question instead. "Dead? Yes," he says, wearily. Baze is so very, very tired. No amount of sleep will help that.

He smiles, trying to inject good humor back into the conversation. "But that's an entirely different story."

"Very dead." Chirrut agrees, but there's a fierce pride underlying his words. It took the best the Empire had to put them down, and they still managed to succeed in their mission. "We were quite surprised to find a cantina in heaven!"

He's not sure what to say, but they both seem to be handling it okay.

He offers a faint smile and says, "I guess this would be a pretty strange place to find yourself. I know I was freaked out when I first came in, and I was just running through a train station at the time. Have you been here long?"

"No, it's only been... a week? I think?" Baze says, and then counts up the days on his fingers. "No, it's been two. Time flies. Technically not for us anymore, since we don't age, but it still does, generally."

He grins at Barry, a touch sheepish for losing track. "How about you? Have you been coming here long?"

Chirrut has taken another handful of crackers, because it'd take more than an emotional upheaval to get him to stop eating.

"It'd be difficult to leave - this place is wonderful."