2019-04-01 - Of All The Gin Joints

Summary:

Rogue and Dax reunite after a long absence, over beer and bourbon. Neither of them are drinking gin.

Log Info:

Storyteller: {$storyteller}
Date: 2019-04-01
Location: An unnamed bar in Manhattan.

Related Logs

{$related}

Theme Song

{$themesong}

daxrogue

Been a while, Manhattan. Done for the day, and not quite ready to go back to his apartment to deal with the roommate situation, Dax finds himself sitting alone at bar. It’s a bit of a dive, but it’s got alcohol, a pool table in the corner, and an attractive woman pouring the drinks. Most importantly, the beer is cheap. The empty pint glass in front of the dark-haired Dax Walker is pushed forward ever so slightly as he catches the woman’s attention, and he motions for another. He’s not drunk, and isn’t planning to get there before his eventual exit, but at this point he’s had a couple, and is just pleasantly buzzed. As he waits for the next round, he idly fidgets with a coin, spinning it on the surface of the bar, half-watching whatever sports might be on the TV up behind the bartender.

*

Rogue has had a hell of a few days. Bar fight, arguing…a lot, with Summers, a humiliating night out feeling wildly out of place with people who she should feel at home with. Dark hair is wavy and wild, loosed from the braids she’d worn it in to work around the garage that day. There’s a black blouse partially open over the green camisole under it, dark wash jeans paired with boots she doesn’t wear for working in, so they’re clean. There’s some makeup on her face, a trace of eyeshadow and liner, and a soft red lip stain. She’ll slide into the bar, and find her way to it, to signal the bartender for attention. She’s had the feeling all week that she needs a drink.. Or several. Lots of them.

*

When you’re sitting at the bar in a place like this, no matter how crowded, you don’t miss it when a woman walks in and pulls up a stool. And when it’s an old friend, you notice it even more. “Holy shit.” The words escape from Dax’s lips almost without intention. It’d be easy enough to mistake the voice for yet another man looking for a hook-up; it’s that kind of bar. But the next thing would be more difficult to mistake. The quarter he’d been spinning is expertly flicked across the bar in Rogue’s direction, spinning in front of her for a moment, before a second one joins it, and then suddenly the two of them stick perfectly together and fall over. An old trick she might remember.

*

If she even heard the words, she doesn’t act like it. She’ll order a double bourbon neat, with a beer chaser, pulling money out of her pocket. That’s when a quarter shoots over in front of her on the bar, and then is joined by a second one in that weird spinning dance and they fall over. She will freeze a moment, eyes locked on the coins on the bar, as if she’s turned to stone. She hasn’t seen that trick in years, and she’s aware her heart stammers in her chest. She’s afraid to hope, even as her head lifts and turns slowly. Green eyes will scan over the faces that will blur slightly before sharpening in resolution. Lips will part, before there’s a very girlish shriek, and the leggy belle will throw herself at her old friend. Here’s hoping he’s got time to brace himself for the attack.

*

Whether he had time to brace himself or not, when Rogue comes flying at him, they both topple to the ground, with Dax playing the part of the gentleman and breaking her fall. He seems relatively unharmed, though. “Well hi to you too,” he says after a moment, following a laugh. Arms wrap around the young woman in a friendly, familiar hug. “Of all the gin joints in all the world, hey?” There’s a wide smile, and as the pair get back on their feet, he’ll help her up as best he can. Once they’re upright again, Dax gives a wave to the bartender, motioning that Rogue’s drinks should go on his tab. He’s all smiles, now. Boring evening averted!

*

Green eyes are ablaze with light, a light flush on her face as she laughs. “What are you doing here? Where have you been?” A pause, before her hands find her hips. “And why haven’t you called, young man?” She will sass him, before she will lean in and hug him again. Unlike when they were at the school, she’s not hesitating or ducking and twisting to make sure any bare skin contact is avoided.

*

Dax looks falsely sheepish a moment, really putting it on by looking down and digging his toe into the floor a bit. “Sorry,” he says, though there remains a smirk on his face. After the hug, which he doesn’t shirk or shy away from in the slightest, Dax straightens up a bit, and slides back onto a stool. “After I left the school, went back home to see the old man. Didn’t go all that well, so I hopped a bus and ended up in LA for a few years. Now.. I’m back.” He shrugs a bit, and takes a drink. “All roads lead back to New York eventually, it would seem. What about you?"

*

“But why didn’t you stay in touch? You know you were one of the few people over there that I ever felt weren’t judging me, or a total pain in the ass.” She’ll drawl at him, green eyes meeting his as she reaches for her bourbon. “I.. uh.. Well, I just left the mansion this mornin’. I decided to take some time away, think some things through. I’ve been working as a mechanic for a while. Nothin’ exciting.”

*

“Chalk that up to me being a shit friend, I guess? Sorry hon, just.. after Detroit I was in a bit of a state, and then it was one of those things where it seemed to be too long to just pick up the phone. And for a lot of the time I didn’t even have a phone.” Dax offers an honest, but pretty lame apology. “Like I said. Shit friend. But I’m back now, and I’m not planning on going anywhere. This is where the action is, I hear.” Silly Dax, New York has always been where the action is. “Was thinking I should get out to the mansion, once I got myself settled. But now that I’ve run into you here, doesn’t seem to be much reason,” he says with a grin. “You looking for a place in the city, then?"

*

“I am sure other people would like to see you. Scott’s there, and Jeannie is going to college here in the city. I was thinking I might get her to come out for a drink, some night. I.. I think she and I have some things to talk about.” She sips bourbon, looking down into the glass with a shrug. “I might be. I haven’t decided if I want to stay out of the mansion for a while. I’m taking a vacation.”

*

“Vacations are never a bad idea,” Dax says. Of course, his last vacation started with him almost getitng into a fist-fight with his father, and then an impromptu three-year trip to the west coast. It wasn’t all bad. “Go get a massage, see Lady Liberty, do the Manhattan tourist thing? Visit the Disaster Zone, make new friends who eat people?” He grins, and drinks. “If you decide to strike out on your own, just remember that I’m gonna need to find a roommate come May, I found out this morning.” Hence the drinking, perhaps. “Something happen between you and Jean?” There’s a pause. “… did you two accidentally make out?” He might be kidding. Maybe.

*

“I’ve never had a vacation, really. It might be nice.” She smiles at him. “ I’ve been to the Disaster Zone recently, so I’ll skip that for now. Don’t want to wear out the fun.” There’s a smirk, before she’s laughing. “No. Jean kissed Scott, see, and told him she loves him. Scott and I had been talking about getting love lives and things.” Rogue blushes. “Scott decided to start seeing some girl.”

*

Dax almost spits out his beer at the Jean/Scott revelation. Because, let’s be honest, Scott has always been… well, Scott? Now he’s got not one but two women hot for him? “Go shades,” he says quietly after a moment, recovering some composure. “That’s kind of a kick in the teeth though, yeah.” He pauses a moment, again, and then side-eyes Rogue. “… you weren’t into him though, were you?”

*

“That’s Scott. I give him some advice about getting out there and meeting people…and look at him go.” Green eyes flash to Dax’s face. “I had thought maybe he and I might try something, but.. It wouldn’t work.” She shrugs. “I thought maybe because he understood my…particular problem, that we might go on a date or two, see where it went. I’ve got some control, these days, but… still not perfect.”

*

Dax nods, getting serious for a moment, as he notices that Rogue isn’t treating it as lightly as he had. He doesn’t want to trivialize his oldest friend’s feelings, after all. “I hate to be ‘that guy’,” Dax says after a moment, “But I’m in the camp of things happening when they’re meant to happen. I mean, look at us.” He motions with his beer glass between the two of them. “Wandering into the same bar, right after you decide to take a vacation, and I come back from LA? Don’t know if I believe in fate or some shit like that, but it’s hard to deny, right?” He takes a drink from said glass. “Besides, Shades isn’t the only guy who understands your situation,” he says, offering a smile.

*

Rogue looks up at him from under lashes. “You have control of your power, sugar. That is the situation being talked about. I think that’s one of the reasons Scott and I have been good friends so long, a sort of… unspoken understanding. Though that’s been blown to hell and back lately, with him seeing this new girl, and hurting the feelings of other girls. He’s been on this whole campaign to convince me I’m some sexy thing like guys want to see on calendars, or the sort guys have wet dreams about. That’s after he pointed out I could always date someone who is asexual, because then they wouldn’t want sex or touching.” There’s a roll of her eyes. “Same ol’ Scott, suave as ever.” She smiles then, brightly. “Fate or just this being the biggest small town in the world, I’m thrilled to see you. And why is this may roommate thing going on?”

*

“Heh, not like my power needs a lot of control,” he says wryly. “But okay, I get it. I don’t really know what it’s like. But still, I know you.” Dax shrugs, just lightly. “Dude needs to learn to not give voice to every goddamn thought that passes through his fool head,” he mutters quietly. “Matters a little whether or not those are things that you want,” he says a little louder. “For the record though, I’ve always thought you were sexy as hell.”

He lets that lie a moment, taking a drink from his glass. “The roommate thing? So, just before I left LA I got a line on this apartment from a friend, who needed a roommate on the lease to keep his place after his other roommate bailed. Couple days after I move in, he decides he’s going back to Philly, and gave his notice for the start of May. Guess I should consider myself lucky I get that much, but still. Pain in the ass, trying to find another roommate who isn’t a complete douchecanoe."

*

She laughs. “Well, I don’t know about that. It’s fun, watching him get all awkward and fidgety with embarrassment. It isn’t every day a girl hears she is a wet dream made flesh and blood, after all.” She’s blushing, another sip of bourbon. “Sure you did. Everyone was just hot for the girl with killer skin.” She drawls with sarcasm. There’s a wince, nose wrinkling. “Ouch. I mean at least he gave you some notice.” She will linger in silence a moment. “The mansion is always there, if you need, you know. Just a suggestion. I’d need a job here in the city before I could commit to anything.”

*

“Don’t sell yourself short, Rogue,” Dax says with a shrug. “You know what I learned on my little trip? Fuck what other people think. I should have gone for it with you when we were in school. Think we could have figured things out, as far as your powers,” he says. “Besides, would have been worth it either way.” He shrugs again, and offers a bit of a smile. Yeah, Rogue was the high-school crush that he never had the balls to do anything about. Everyone’s got one of those, right?

*

She will blink at him, cheeks still pink. “Well, I generally don’t give a damn, that didn’t change while you were gone, sugar. I don’t know that will ever change.” Then she’s silent, lips parted as words fail her. “I musta missed something. Gone for it with me?” She lifts her eyebrows. “Honey, I only barely now have any sort of control. I prefer you alive and kickin’, thank you.”

*

“You really had no idea, huh? Guess I’m sneakier than I thought.” Dax smirks at that. “And you know, maybe it’s another one of those things that if it were meant to be, it’d have been. Fuck, I’m sounding like a damn hippie. I like being alive too, but we’d have figured something out, maybe. Who knows, right? You didn’t zap me when you tackled me earlier. I’ll call that a step in the right direction."

*

“I never… I never thought anyone would think of me like that. The whole potential death thing.” She says, a self-mocking smile. “ Nothing wrong with being a little bit of a hippie.” She’ll wink at him, before there’s a smile. “Well, so long as I’m not panicked, too pissed, or too startled.. I’m the one who decides if someone gets zapped or not. It’s a start.”

*

“Sounds like me and cell phones,” Dax replies with a smirk. “I’m good unless I get upset, or panicked.. otherwise.. kaput.” He makes a little explosion motion with his hands. “Still, end up going through one every couple months, if not more.” His accidents are a little less fatal, just expensive. Pretty sure he’s on Apple’s list of people who are no longer eligible for AppleCare. “Where’re you working out of? Dealership?” Aren’t too many freelance mechanics, unless you’re into something a little more restricted than consumer automobiles.

*

Rogue smiles, just a little one for him. “So.. the cheap ones at the Wal-mart for you, hmm?” She asks with a lift of her eyebrows. “Naw, this old man’s shop, a town over from the mansion. He likes having me around, he’s getting up there and having someone to do the grunt work is nice for him. I think he’s lonely otherwise, too.”

*

Dax frowns ruefully. “I miss being able to text properly,” he says, mock-pouting. To the explanation of the shop, he gives a nod, but doesn’t comment much; can’t be a lot of money in working for a small shop like that. “Sounds nice and peaceful. I don’t get a lot of ‘nice and peaceful’ in my line of work. Mostly people yelling long sequences of swear words as I beat a hasty retreat,” he says with a bit of a smirk. It’s hard to deny that he actually enjoys that part just a little bit. “Shockingly, people don’t like getting served with divorce papers as much as you might think."

*

She will give a laugh, before polishing off that bourbon. “Have you tried like.. Gloves and things? I would think the latex or whatever would be enough insulation. Or like the gloves you can use your phone in? I’m just lobbing ideas, here.” There’s a grin. “Oh lord, you’re a process server?”

*

“Someone’s gotta deliver the bad news,” Dax says, lifting his glass to his face for a drink. “Might as well get paid for it, right?” Kinda fell backward into it in LA, after a bunch of other things didn’t work out. Turns out I’m not much of an actor, in case you were curious.” Because when you’re in Los Angeles, you try to be an actor. And when that fails, you make money off rich people cheating on each other. Pretty much sums up his stint on the west coast. “Yeah, gloves don’t really help. Used to be that my power would only work if I were touching something metal, but now I can affect things as long as they’re not too far away."

*

“Someone does, but maybe leave it to someone they can’t hurt.” Rogue smirks. “Like me.” She’s joking, at least a little. “You’re pretty enough to be. Didn’t try the modelling thing, then?” She nods. “Evolution and the increase in a power’s potential is apparently a thing. So at some point, I have been warned my powers my do something weird.”

*

“Hey, I can look after myself just fine,” Dax replies in kind. A guy’s gotta defend his manliness, right? “Nah, I didn’t look into modelling. Just doesn’t seem like.. me, I guess. And, you know, ‘pretty’ isn’t really the descriptor most dudes are hoping for, but it’s nice to know you think I’m not hideous,” he says with a grin. “I figure my powers are pretty much as.. I dunno, developed, as they’re gonna get? Just need to stop frying my phone on the regular, and I’ll be set. Your stuff is a bit more complicated than mine though, so yeah. But really, our whole lives are waiting for something weird to happen, right?"

*

“Yeah yeah, I could take you out in a fight.” She will stick her tongue out at him with a giggle. “You missed the bar fight I was in the other day. Something else.” She smirks, picking up her beer. “Working with the X-ers, my life has been nothing but weird. So are you happy with the job, or just doing it until you find something else?”

*

“I don’t doubt it,” Dax says with a smile, laughing lightly at the stuck-out tongue. “You probably get a lot more practice than I do, these days. I’ll bet it’s a trip up there at the mansion,” he says, with just a hint of wistfulness in his voice. Does he miss it? Maybe a little. It’s a different world, but what could he really contribute? “Eh, I’m okay. It’s a pay check, but it’s not exactly thrilling work. When I was in LA I was working with a PI on the side, too. Might see if I can find someone willing to take me on here. You know, because serving divorce papers isn’t nearly as exciting as getting photographic proof of why the divorce papers are being served,” he jokes. Well, half-jokes.

*

“I don’t practice as much as I did coming up, because well.. If there are no powers involved, it’s hard to take me down. The bar fight was me versus a whole lot of drunk morons.” There’s a cheeky grin, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Well, I need to look for a job in the city, I think. I don’t want to leave the X-ers high and dry, but.. I don’t know if I want to live there anymore.”

*

“You do have a bit of an unfair advantage, I’ll give you that,” Dax jokes. “But drunk morons usually have it coming. Having been a drunk moron on more than one occasion, I can attest to that with some authority.” He grins, and as a matter of point, takes another drink from his beer. “Chances are you won’t have much trouble finding mechanic work in town. There’s a new-ish shop in my end of town that might be looking? I don’t know anything about it besides that it’s there, and it hasn’t been for long. Beyond that, I can probably hook you up with a job serving papers, but based on your initial reaction it’s probably not something you’re too excited about,” he says, and then finishes his beer. “I tell you though, moving out of the mansion was good for me, I think. After living on the street it was a good place to be, but it wasn’t.. I dunno, real. Getting out on my own felt good."

*

“I said no powers, jackass.” She sasses him. “I was just trying to break it up, and some ass hit me. I offered to let him apologize and walk away. He told me to shut up, sit down, and then capped it by calling me a bitch. He ended up bleeding on the floor, clutching at his goods.” She smirks. “Well, I can check it out. If they’re new, they may be full up. I don’t mind serving papers, I worry about you doing it.” She smiles. “I remember living on the street. The mansion was.. Yeah. Unreal. I think we both know why I didn’t head out into the world on my own yet.”

*

“Sounds like he got what he deserved then. Doesn’t matter how drunk you are, ain’t no reason for that kind of language,” Dax says, shaking his head, though there’s still a smirk there. “Eh, most people are okay about getting served. Ninety-percent just accept it, aren’t very happy about it, but figure there’s not much they can do. And really, there isn’t. Every now and then you get an asshole who thinks you’re the one going after him. And every now and then you get a lunatic who thinks if you can’t hand-deliver the papers they’ll get off scot-free, so they either run, or lock you out, or whatever. I’ve only been shot at once, and I can count on my hands the number of times some douchebag has taken a swing at me, so I think my numbers are pretty good considering.” Is that supposed to put her mind more at ease? Yes. Yes it is.

*

“Oh, he deserved it all right. They all did. I was out, trying to shake off some hurt feelings and blues, and … I couldn’t even get a drink in first.” There’s rueful little smile. “Don’t tell me these things. I can take a fool out easy, what are you gonna do? Blow up his phone?” She asks, teasing him. “I don’t much like the idea of you getting shot at. Once or ever.”

*

Dax frowns a bit at that. He knows she’s joking, but he spent three years already feeling pretty inadequate at that school. “I’ve got some tricks,” he says after a moment. “You’d be surprised what you can accomplish with a belt buckle and a lamp post.” There’s a smirk again, and then a wistful glance into his empty beer glass. “Must be a hole in this thing,” he says wryly.

*

She will reach up to ruffle his hair, an old gesture from back when that was one of the only ‘safe’ ways she could touch people. “I’m sure you do. Still not a fan of the idea of anyone taking a swing or a shot at you, thankyouverymuch.” She will polish off her own beer, looking at him. “Is your roommate going to be pissed if you bring home a girl and a couple six packs?”

*

“He’s moving out in a month, what the fuck do I care?” Dax says, grinning widely. He doesn’t mind the hair-ruffling; let’s be honest, his hair is pretty ruffle-able. And it falls back into place almost perfectly. His mutant power might well have been well-behaved hair, if it weren’t for the more obvious magnet thing. Dax motions for the bartender to ring up his tab, and adds on two six-packs of whatever’s cheapest. “Cheap beer and tequila? Best night-cap in the world.”

*

Rogue will put money on the counter, and ask for a bottle of bourbon to go. “Honey, you don’t want me doing tequila. Trust me on that.” She will flash a grin, a hint of a dimple in one cheek. “Shall we go annoy your roommate in retaliation for skating out on you?”

*

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License