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But you told her and didn't lose her. Least, not from what I saw.

[He arches an eyebrow at that, though.]

What do you mean she won't be here long? You think she's not real?

She's not happy with me, though. She may want nothing else to do with me. Even if it's not about being gay, I just...It's got to sound bad to her.

[The nephilim puts his face in his hands, and the crackling continues. If he had never seen them again, maybe it would have been better. He has no clue how much worse it could get.]

They showed up after everyone else.

It seems like everyone who arrived knows someone who's already here. Somethings not right about it- I think no matter what they are, they're not staying.

Perhaps I felt I could have my old life back for a moment.

I told you. Before I came to this world...simple physical human pleasures were...muted? In a way? I didn't taste things fully, I didn't experience things fully. So I indulge often and now I consider myself something of an expert in them.

[Especially food. There's something about the taste of foods, it's difficult for her to put into words.]

This world just has so much to offer.

[Juno turns to look at the man Boone is referring to. He's not hard to find--if he yelled any louder, he'd probably burst the poor bartender's eardrums. He raises an eyebrow and marches on over to the man. Before he can interrupt, the man jabs a finger at the bartender, making them jump back. Juno grabs the man's wrist, staring him down.]

I think you've had enough for now. Why don't you--

[Before he can finish his sentence, the man turns and sends a fist flying towards the bartender. Luckily, Juno's face is there to catch it. The man's fist hits Juno squarely between the eyes, causing his head to snap back. He's lucky that his nose didn't break for the umpteenth time.

If he had his laser blaster on hand, he could probably stun this guy no problem and throw him outside. Unfortunately, he's only got his fists and his smart mouth to defend himself. Maybe he could use the tables and chairs to his advantage, throw the guy off balance, but that would probably never get him hired.

Well. He's gotten out of situations with less. So, Juno decides to kick the man in the shins. The man yells out in pain, his attention now on Juno. Juno darts to the side, far enough so that the man can't reach him with his fists, but close enough that he can still be annoying.]

What's the matter, big guy? You want a fight, you got one.

[That gets the man to get off his fat ass and stomp towards Juno, away from the terrified bartender. Good. Unfortunately, the man picks up his glass and chucks it directly at Juno's head. Juno dives behind a table and hears the glass shattering against the ground. He scrambles back out, waving at the man. Behind him lies the exit of the Lucky 38.]

Woah! Didn't your parents ever teach you Fight Etiquette 101? [Pause.] Actually, from the way you were treating that bartender, I doubt they taught you any manners, either.

[The man doesn't reply, focused on mashing Juno's face in with his fist. He charges straight towards him, shouting explicates that would make even the dirtiest Outer Rim pirate blush. At the last moment, Juno steps to the side, sweeping his leg under the man's feet and causing him to fall flat on his face. He pulls the man up by the collar, glaring daggers at him. He punches the man in the face and kicks him in the stomach for good measure, then pushes him towards the exit.]

Get out. Come back when you learn to be goddamn polite.

[After watching the man stumble out, Juno staggers back towards Boone. His head his throbbing from the punch, and, it's almost guaranteed that he'll have a concussion. Pretty typical day on the job for Juno Steel, Private Eye.]

So? How'd I do?

[Boone watches the whole thing quietly, expression flat and unamused by the patron's behaviour. But when Juno comes back, he grunts and nods.]

You took that punch pretty well. And you got him out of here, which is the important thing. Okay, you've got a job.

[He gestures to the bar, where the bartender is shakily going back to his business.]

Employees drink for free, just don't end up in the same state that guy was in or I'll take that privilege away. You a whiskey guy?

[He can smell it on him, and thinks he could even without his keen senses.]

Must've been something when you first came here, huh? Experiencing things for the first time.

[He feeds Pointy a poffin, but he's looking over at Lust.]

Guess that's kinda what I'm doing, too. My senses were never dulled like yours, but the terrible food we had probably makes up for that, huh.

Well, yeah, she's gonna be hurt. But that's because you pretty much just told her you'll never have feelings for her, right? You really think she wouldn't be upset?

[And it's something he should have told Janine a long time ago. Still, when Egon puts his face in his hands Boone reaches out, patting him lightly on the shoulder.]

Egon, we're not getting our old lives back. Know that's not what you wanna hear, but I'm not gonna lie to you. Even if everyone you care about shows up here, it's not gonna be the same.

[He keeps his face in his hands, breathing calm, sparking slightly where Boone pats his shoulder. One wing twitches and reflexively pulls away. He told himself repeatedly he was happy here. He is; he told himself he missed his friends, he'd be happy yo see them again, that he knew things had changed.]

[And yet here he was. He'd done so much wrong by her, and the rest of his friends, by keeping his own fears to himself. And he had to know he couldn't go back to normal; especially here. He couldn't have lied to her, or set Boone aside.]

I know.

I'd hoped to keep it to myself.

[It's the one thing he can't account for, he can't control.]

At least, to tell her on my own terms and on my own time.

To be honest...I hated it at first. I felt clumsy and weak and wrong. It took a great deal of time to adjust. And even then there were some things that worried me for so long...

[Like the ocean, or large fires, or human intimacy.]

It's what many of us do. There are so many of us from worlds worse than this, from lives that were...lacking.

It was once proposed to me that we're here because of that. To be given the lives we were denied in our own worlds, to have those things that were taken from us. Or...as close as can be offered, anyway.

[He nods, taking a moment to rub his temples. Nothing a trip to the clinic and a week's rest can't fix.

Boone doesn't seem to be like much of a talker, that's for sure. Lup and Egon spoke of him favorably, though, so Juno tries to reserve and judgement until he actually talks with him more. Besides, he can't be that bad if he offers his employees free drinks and runs a nice casino like this one.]

Usually, yeah. I'll take anything that has a bite to it, though. When should I expect to start?

[He likes his drinks with an active desire to do him harm.]

[He's really not a talkative guy, though he does speak a little more once he knows someone.]

Well, we've got plenty of drinks to choose from. And I'd like you in as soon as possible, but you should probably get checked out at the clinic first. That was one hell of a punch.

[What a coincidence, Boone likes his the same way.]

How about you let me know when you're feeling okay to work and we'll go from there?

[He's not unreasonable. He knows making someone work with a possible concussion isn't going to end well.]

[Boone thinks on that for a moment, frowning slightly.]

Still waiting for something to go wrong, myself. I don't deserve a second chance like this.

[His gaze drops to the popcorn, but he doesn't take any. It's just something to look at dully.]

...Sorry. That's not what we're here for, right?

The longer you waited to tell her, the more you'd just be leading her on. You know that. Better that she knows now.

[He pulls his hand away when Egon's wing retreats.]

Look, I get it, you're mad at me. I can give you some space if you want.

[The words echo in Lust's mind. "I don't deserve this, my sins are too great.", "But why ME, I don't deserve anything else...."]

[She knows this sentiment. She's been down this road before, and is almost amazed how often she finds herself here.]

I don't think it's up to us to decide what we deserve and what we don't.

[It's said very matter of factly, the simple statement of truth. It's not up to them, ruminating and wondering over it does no good, just be happy for the chance and enjoy what this world has to offer.]

Someone's already decided for you. Now eat your popcorn and enjoy the movie previews.

Edited 2018-09-03 14:53 (UTC)

[Boone thinks it's already been decided that he doesn't deserve nice things, but he just nods and tries to brighten up for Lust's sake.]

Yeah, okay.

[He reaches over for the popcorn, watching the previews for the different movies and not really looking where his hand is going.]

I know.

[He strokes a few metal fingers down his nose, sighing before he stands fully again and glances at Boone. The werebear was right. Doing it on his own terms... he likely never would have. And there was so little he could do to justify it.]

[The static fades as he collects himself.]

I suppose I'm going to have to talk to her in private.

It's time to tell Peter too, before he feels even more insulted.

I'll talk to you later.

Sounds good. See you in a few days, then.

[His voice cracks a little when he speaks. Juno pinches the bridge of his nose, eyebrows furrowing. He starts making his way out of the Lucky 38 when he stops to stare at the bar. He almost makes a move to order a drink, but then decides against it and stumbles out the way he came.

For the moment, Juno's finally got a job.]

[Lust's glad he's quick to drop it.]

[She shouldn't be surprised. What is it about her, that these sort of men just find their way into her life? There must be something. Or someone must have made a decision, on some level beyond human comprehension.]

[And yet again, there'd been no intentions beyond friendship. There still isn't, no intentions. But Lust isn't an idiot, or lacking experience in these things any longer.]

[Not paying much attention to the previews, simply staring at them to stare at something, she mindlessly reaches for the popcorn herself.]

[He freezes when their hands touch, his fingers brushing hers before he pulls away awkwardly.]

Ah. Sorry.

[He glances at her as if gauging her reaction before taking a poffin and distracting himself by feeding it to Pointy.

He realises something then. When they'd touched hands, he'd felt a little spark of something there. It's been so long since that happened, but it's unmistakable. He's... actually attracted to her, isn't he? She's beautiful yes, but that hadn't been the deciding factor. He just really likes spending time with her. Talking to her. Travelling with her.

Goddammit. He hates this. Not just because he doesn't deserve someone like Lust, but because she's so obviously out of his league anyway. She's beautiful and intelligent, and he's... well, the opposite.]

It's fine.

[Lust's tone is dismissive. She doesn't quite look away from the screen, but her eyes flick just for a moment in Boone's direction.]

[Hmmm. This is all very...cinematic, for lack of a better comparison. She supposes she should be used to it by now - isn't this always the way? Some cliche moment, some oft-seen scenario that she simply stumbles her way into.]

[It isn't as though she hasn't noticed that Boone's a handsome, well built man. She's seen him at the beach, after all. But he's a widower, and has as many walls as Scar had. He's a damaged man, deeply so. From a violent, terrible place. And she has no history with him, no existing connection to build upon. She's not about to make a fool of herself.]

[So she simply forces her attention on the film. And doesn't carelessly reach for the popcorn any longer.]

[Perhaps the movie won't be terribly long...]

[He takes the tone to mean she thought nothing of it, and is mostly relieved. Good, they can just watch the film and hopefully it won't have to be as awkward as he thinks it might be. And then he can leave and go get terribly drunk somewhere and wish he wasn't such an idiot. That seems like a good plan.

Pointy purrs comfortingly and leans his head on Boone's shoulder, which helps. He doesn't look at Lust anymore for a while, instead feeding Pointy poffins periodically and only going for the popcorn when he's sure Lust won't. The movie is a good distraction. It's over soon enough though, and then he has to face Lust again.

Maybe he's making too much of a big deal out of it. It's probably all in his head. Lust probably doesn't even know anything is wrong. So he pats Pointy for making him feel better, and looks over at her.]

That was pretty good.

It was.

[A rather standard action movie, a bit difficult to follow in places, but overall perfectly enjoyable. And the sort of film one should see in a theater.]

[And there hadn't been another potentially awkward moment since the one. Those things happen, it was easy enough to forget about.]

Dinner? There's a nice diner with a good variety of foods, they're bound to have things you haven't tried yet.

Sure.

[The whiskey blackout will have to wait, apparently. He gets out of his seat and waits for Lust, before walking beside her to the diner. At least he doesn't feel as mortified now as he did when he first touched her hand, but there's still something heavy in the pit of his stomach.]

What are some of your favourite things that you've tried here?

I'm rather fond of a hearty soup paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, honestly. And the breakfast foods - pancakes and omelettes and bacon. For you...

[Lust looks over at Boone as though appraising him as they walk, finger tapping at her lips in concentration.]

I would recommend the meatloaf with potatoes and gravy. You strike me as a man who enjoys hearty food, as well as flavorful.

I do like good food. Not that I got to eat a lot of it back home, but Brahmin steak was always good.

[It's easier to talk about food than think about his feelings. It's still only a crush, maybe he can get rid of it somehow.]

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