Think of all the luck you got.

[not_lost]

There were a lot of really weird and screwed-up scenarios that Fiona Gallagher could imagine herself in. Her involvement in these scenarios was usually begrudging and her father usually the cause, but picturing herself caught up in something beyond most people's limit of belief had officially became much easier after this past summer. (Finding yourself crouching in a hole in your backyard, covered in sweat and dirt, and ecstatic over having unearthed a dead relative's remains could do that to a girl.)

Despite that, she had to admit that the Nexus was pretty fucking crazy, even by Gallagher standards.

It had been just at a week hotel time since she'd opened the downstairs bathroom door and found the Nexus beyond, but having a magical luxury hotel where her toilet should be freaked her out a lot less than the fact that the place was essentially free. In Fiona's experience, if something sounded too good to be true, it always was, and she probably should've gone home, chalked the whole experience up to some bad seafood and never thought about it again.

She probably would have, too, if the people at the desk hadn't told her the bit about time differences and job openings.

Christmas was right around the corner, and she'd spent almost everything Jimmy had left her on that damned deal for work. (Not that she was complaining; the money had come at the perfect time, and now they'd have enough plastic cups in the house that they probably wouldn't need to wash a single glass for half a year.) Back home, it would cost her 150 bucks to get herself licensed to sell alcohol, and she'd have no guarantee of being hired anywhere. Here, they apparently only cared that you could mix a drink, and a lifetime with Frank had more than prepared her for that. The great hourly wage and tips she was earning meant she could actually afford to get everything out of lay-away this year and maybe even buy some extra stocking stuffers for the kids. The circumstances may have been weird, but for Fiona taking the position was a no-brainer.

Today was her third day behind the bar at the Smoking Room. She'd allowed herself to come through early enough to get a solid nap before her shift and was now practically chipper, turning a wide smile to the guests waiting for a drink.

"What can I get you?"

For the first time in a long time, she actually felt good about the future.

Comments

[bonetown]

"Definitely not going to risk that," Alex says, crossing her lips as she gives a little seat-bounce in excitement at the idea of earning actual money. "Oh my god, this is crazy exciting," she says, draining the last of her drink through a straw. "I'm gonna need another one of those, but this one, celebration size!"

[not_lost]

Fiona laughed, astonishment threaded through the sound as she reached for Alex's emptied glass. This was definitely one enthusiastic chick, but who was she to judge? She kind of wished she could be so excited about so many things.

"One celebration-sized margarita, coming up," she said, still smiling, and began assembling the drink in a bigger glass.

[bonetown]

"Hells yeah," Alex cheers Fiona on excitedly, clapping her hands together like a precious baby fur-seal and leans her elbows on the counter. "So? You're the bartender, right? You probably see all kinds of hot guys here. I'm kind of on the rebound and I could use a parallel universe quickie. Any prospects?"

[not_lost]

"There are plenty of hot guys," Fiona had to admit. She was absolutely not looking, but she wasn't blind, either. "You into normal guys or you looking for, like, vampires or aliens?"

Fiona paused, rearing back, her eyebrows pulling together. "I can't believe I just asked somebody that question and I was being serious."

[bonetown]

"I don't know. I mean, no way do I want some hot guy munching down on my blood. It's my blood," Alex says possessively. "Plus, it's probably so loaded with sodium that I'd be a total turn-off. And I could never give up garlic cheese bread," she swears. "I don't know, I could use an alien guy. I mean, provided he doesn't have any weird antennae on his head."

"Other parts are cool, though," she says with a shrug, sipping deeply at her drink.

[not_lost]

Keeping a straight face after that was a complete impossibility. It wasn't only the implication of what Alex had said, but the nonchalant way in which she said it, and after a brief moment Fiona gave up, leaning forward to place her forehead against her forearms, which were draped across the edge of the bar. Her shoulders shook with her laughter, and when she finally stood up again, it was with an amused, melodic sigh, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, I… I really don't know about other parts," she admitted. "Depends on what they are."

[bonetown]

Alex waggles her eyebrows suggestively as she leans in on one elbow. "I bet they can get great reception down there," she jokes, closing her eyes with victory when she knows she landed the joke. Ten points for Alex! "Besides, I'd abandon hot vampires and hot aliens if I could get my hands on a rich guy with lots of bacon friends."

[not_lost]

By the point, Fiona really wasn't sure she wanted to know what bacon friends were, but she had to ask. This conversation was already one of the most amusing she'd had in a long time.

"Bacon friends? As in friends who cook bacon or friends made of bacon?"

[bonetown]

"They can be both, but for me, it's the ones who provide me with tasty, tasty bacon," Alex says, grinning widely as she lifts her shoulders in thoughts of some of the best bacon meals she's had in her life. "They gave their lives to be so delicious and I salute them," she says, seriously.