MJ doesn't come to the mountain; the mountain comes to MJ

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He's gotten used to being in this place. Oh, it took a long time, but he got there. Though, he's not sure he can rightly say exactly how long he's been here.

Though, he has experienced quite a bit. A couple costume parties, a super power that he didn't want - the man who is anti-feelings does not want the power of 'empathy'. It didn't make him understand feelings any better. Mostly, it made him feel like Mike - his associate back home. There was an almost-run-in with dinosaurs - narrowly avoided - and a high school prom. He's still not sure how he got talked into that one.

So, after that excitement, he's taking a few minutes to hang out in the bar and have a drink. Or two. Maybe more. Talk to some people. Enjoy a little downtime, as it were. Possibly even figure out if he likes it here or not.

Or, if anyone knows how he can get back home.

Comments

[not_lost]

To suggest that Fiona's had a lot on her mind lately would be a serious understatement. It's been a banner summer for the Gallagher clan, and she doesn't think she can be blamed for using the Nexus for a break. With Lip here now doing the exact same thing she feels a little less guilty, and at least she can tell herself she's making some money while she avoids her family.

"What can I get you?" she asks with a warm smile as she steps up behind the bar, hair pulled back in a ponytail and hands resting comfortably on her hips.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He glances up at the voice suddenly behind the bar. Studying her a moment, he makes a few mental notes. "Scotch. Neat." Today's he's dressed more casual than his typical three-piece-suit business attire. Appearances are important, but a suit and tie isn't required for a non-office setting. Besides, he only has one client here - though, she may be more of a former client now, since she only ever gave him ten bucks.

[not_lost]

"Coming right up," is Fiona's instinctive reply, and she turns to reach for one of the open bottles of scotch and a glass.

"You're out of your suit today," she remarks as she places the drink on a cocktail napkin and slides it the guy's way. They've never spoken, really, but she works here five days a week when she can, and lives in the Nexus a good deal of the time, too. It's not that difficult to remember people.


[Sooooorry, sorry. Life ate my face again!]

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"It was getting a little ripe," he jokes. They haven't spoken, but he's moved about the place a bit and knows a few faces. Names, on the other hand, he doesn't have for most people. Not unless they're important to him in one way or another.

He takes a sip of his drink. "Good choice," he says of the Scotch.

[not_lost]

"I'd tell you it's top shelf, but there isn't actually anything here that isn't," Fiona replies with a smirk, leaning a hip against the inside edge of the bar.

"So, is the suit for work, or do you just like looking dapper?" In this place, you never could tell.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He grins at her and takes a healthy sip from his glass.

"Maybe it's both," he answers. Looking good is part of Harvey's general modus operandi. It wouldn't much matter what his job was, he would always look good doing it.

[not_lost]

Fiona huffs out a small laugh with a conceding nod of her head. "Okay, fair enough. See, where I come from, guys usually only pull out their suit if they're going to a funeral or to court, so my perception's probably a little skewed. You wear it well, though, so congrats."

Still smiling, she picks up a towel and idly wipes some condensation from the prep area behind the bar.

"What's work, then?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He gives a brief nod of his own, acknowledging her compliment. Oh, he knows he wears the suits well. He wouldn't be him if he didn't.

"I'm an attorney," he says. "You? I assume you're not a bartender all the time."

[not_lost]

"Oh, so you are going to court," says Fiona, gently laughing again. "Me, I have the distinction of being both a bartender and a waitress." She spreads her hands out before her. "I'm living the dream."

Sarcastic though she may be, she doesn't look like she minds it. In truth, she's just grateful to have a steady income from work that doesn't require wading in shit all day.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He feeds her a smirky-frown. "Not if I can help it," he says regarding going to court. "Why win in court if I can do it from my office?"

He leans an arm on the bar. "Bartender and a waitress? Well, don't I feel like a slacker now."

[not_lost]

Fiona scoffs in disbelief. "Please. How long did it take you to get your law degree? I wouldn't call that slacking. Plus," she adds, holding up an index finger, "it's better to work smarter than work harder, right?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"Law degree? Three years." He waves a finger at her. "But, I'll confirm my slacker status by telling you that I - how did my boss put it - 'jerked off the whole time I was there'." He grins at her. "I always work smart," he says with a wicked leer.

[not_lost]

"Three years is a lot of jerking off," Fiona says, her smile wry. "Did your boss know you spent three years jerking off before he hired you? Because if so, you're definitely looking like the smarter one in this equation."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana's always on the lookout for someone fun, or someone who'll buy her drinks, or both. Is there anything else to do around here? Not unless the doors cooperate, and she can go explore, but right now she seems stuck here, so it's off to the Smoking Room with her.

He's on his own at the bar, and he looks extremely human, in one of those suits of theirs. She's never talked to him, so why not. He's got the look of someone who'd welcome the company of a pretty girl; time to see how he deals when the girl in question is so very clearly not human.

She walks straight over to him, even her gait something clearly alien. She doesn't move like a human, any more than she looks like one. "Hey there," she greets him, the smile on her lips twinkling in black eyes. "Buy a girl a drink?"

She's always been one for the direct approach.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

His tie is loose, the top couple buttons undone on his shirt, a little more casual for the end of the day. He loves his suits, but he doesn't love wearing them when it's not necessary. Today had just been one of those days when he felt the need to put it on for a while, look professional, maybe find out if anyone has need of an attorney.

The woman's voice he hears is intriguing. He turns over his shoulder and gives her quite the once-over. It's not just the odd skin tone; it's also the movements and her stance. She's humanoid shaped, but her demeanor is quite different.

He glances her over once again and replies, "That depends on what sort of girl." There's a slight upward bend to his mouth, so there's no implication that he's disinterested. He's still in the land of intrigued on this one.

[nebaritralk]

"The grey kind," Chiana answers with a grin, happy for his reaction. Not used to girls like her - probably not used to girls that aren't human - but taking it in stride. She's been learning to read human facial expressions. It's been a pretty immersive, self-taught course these last few months.

She walks around him so he won't have to crane his neck as much, and her clothes look like she might have stepped off a Jean-Paul Gaultier runway, only they're all a little too dark, other shades of grey. A corset, the sort that'll give her a very nice cleavage without limiting her ability to move, long sleeves and gloves, skintight pants and flat-heeled boots.

"I'm Chiana," she adds, since most men like to have the name of whoever they're buying drinks for. She sounds Australian, but she really, really isn't.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"Grey," he says. "I can't say that I'm aware of 'the grey kind'." He follows her as she steps around him. Though he is not accustomed to women of grey skin and oddly dark eyes, he can't say that he's opposed to, at the very least, having a drink and a conversation with one.

"Harvey," he offers his own name and waves to a stool. "What do ladies like you drink?" he asks her, waving the bartender over.

[nebaritralk]

"I'm not sure there are ladies like me, Harvey," Chiana answers with a small smirk, and grabs a stool. The way she sits on it isn't ladylike at all, for that matter, legs spread wide enough that the posture would, by human standards, be called masculine.

"I'm still working my way through your Earth cocktails," she adds, and her smile widens to a grin. "Try and surprise me?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"No, I don't think there are," he concurs. While he is accustomed to the more feminine style ladies, he's not put off by her particular style.

He purses his lips and looks at his own glass. "Have you sampled the various Scotch whiskys?"

[nebaritralk]

"Whiskys," Chiana echoes thoughtfully, and looks at the colour of the drink in his glass. "I think I've had some." It is what Tony had suggested she drink, isn't it - and a good suggestion it had been. So she grins at Harvey. "How many are there?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

Harvey grins at her. "Quite a few," he says. "But we'll stay away from the bad ones." He waves the bartender over and orders a few brands to try.

He slides her a glass. The first is a Lowland - Glenkinchie. It's the 10-year old version. He's only tried this one a few times himself, but it's a pleasant taste.

[nebaritralk]

Chiana raises the glass at him with a half-smile, eyes glinting, and then takes a very healthy drink. Sipping isn't a thing she would even think of doing. "It's smoother than what I've had." Sweeter, is what she means by that; it goes down more easily. It's not much of a compliment, coming from her; a lot of what humans eat and drink tastes bland to her. This is a far cry from bland, at least, she'll give it that.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He grins at her. The woman knows how to drink. "Should I ask about your constitution before we move on to any of the others?" He doesn't want her getting plastered drunk and having to carrying her up to her room.

[nebaritralk]

"Better than yours, unless you're something special for a human," Chiana answers with a playful smirk. It's one thing she's quickly discovered about their species. They tend to be lightweights, at least compared to Nebari and... well, most species she's drunk with.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

That makes him laugh. "As humans go, I'm not particularly a lightweight, but I am seriously out of practice in the 'getting drunk' department." He doesn't think he's gotten really hammered since college, maybe law school, or possibly that one party early in his career at Pearson Hardman. Maybe.

He narrows his eyes a bit. "Clearly you are something other than human," he says plainly. It's not an insult, more a flatly phrased question.