The deck of the Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Friday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

So. Duke had been in Fandom for two weeks now. And while he'd absolutely never say out loud that he felt like he had a handle on things . . . he felt a bit like he had a handle on things.

Case in point: he was lounging on the deck of his boat, sipping bourbon and pondering whether or not he could sail to 2008 Baltimore, stash an inexpensive bottle somewhere, then walk across the causeway to 2019 Baltimore, pick it up, and sell it all nicely aged. He was pretty sure he could get away with something like that without breaking time. So long as he didn't manage to run into his older self or something. But wouldn't his older self know to just avoid Baltimore in 2019?

He was not so lost in such thoughts as to not notice the small green thing creeping around his crates, though. He dropped his hand down to the butt of the gun taped under his chair.

"Pretty sure biting your subjects is a big reporter no-no."

The gremlin made a sort of grumbling, snarling noise, and scuttled off. Duke nodded to himself and sipped his bourbon.

Yeah. He was getting a handle on things.

[open boat deck is open!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

Rey was just passing by after the park, but she did have to slow down to see if he was there to say hi.

[*stalks stalks stalks*]

[betterthanaplan]

"Rey," Duke greeted. "How's it going?"

[thatwaslucky]

"About the usual." Which wasn't a complaint. "I see you're incredibly busy."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh, absolutely." Duke spread his hands with a grin. "Relaxation is a chore that's best handled daily."

[thatwaslucky]

"Especially in a town without much to do?"

Seriously, Fandom, you were tiny.

[betterthanaplan]

"Been noticing that. I'm actually surprised there aren't more bars around here."

[thatwaslucky]

"Two aren't enough?"

She only went to one, and that was because of the Wednesday bartender. Once Summer left, that'd probably be it.

[betterthanaplan]

"People tend to want to get drunk when they're bored," Duke said. ". . . Hence the 'Drunk and Bored Club', I guess." He shook his head. "The type of drunk they want to get tends to vary, though. So you've got Caritas, with its lounge-y, cocktail vibe, and Devil's Nest for those who want something darker and more exclusive, but there is not a single dive bar to be seen. Where do people go when they want to drink in a place as messy as their own lives? Or pretend they know how to hustle pool?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I think there's supposed to be pool at the bowling alley?" Rey tried.

[betterthanaplan]

"But is there booze?" Duke asked, then shrugged. "Actually, either way, 'bowling alley' still isn't the same as 'dive bar'. I guess maybe folks have to aim for the mainland for that."

[thatwaslucky]

"Probably. I'm afraid I'm not much help there," Rey admitted. "I did not get out much before."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shook his head sadly. "All work and no play, Rey. You should learn to cut loose a little."

[thatwaslucky]

"Cut loose how?" she had to ask.

[betterthanaplan]

"Well, that's entirely up to you," Duke said. "Personally, I'm a fan of liquor." He raised his glass. "Or swimming. Not big on mixing the two though. That's just asking to drown. Which is not relaxing."

[thatwaslucky]

"That would be the exact opposite of relaxing," she agreed, and thought about it. "Training is relaxing. Sort of."

Oh honey.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . Wow. We are definitely going to have to work on that." Oh honey indeed. "Pretty sure I saw an onsen on the island, you ever try going there?"

[thatwaslucky]

Rey shook her head. "I'm not actually sure what it is."

[betterthanaplan]

"In my world, at least, it's a Japanese term referring to a hot spring. Sort of like a big cozy bath. Which . . . I gather if you're from a desert planet you maybe haven't enjoyed a lot of?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Not really. It does sound interesting." The girl loved showers, but baths were new.

Of course, with that description, she had to check, "...There's clothes involved in this, right?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Depends on the management," Duke said. "Most of the traditional places in Japan are strictly nude, but unless the owner's a real stickler, they've probably made allowances for, uh, local modesty standards."

[thatwaslucky]

"Good," she said. "If he's a stickler that won't be relaxing,"

[betterthanaplan]

"It could be," Duke said. He wasn't particularly modest, himself. "But it'd probably take practice. I'm guessing a place with this many teenagers running around is probably pretty careful about potential public nudity, though."

Oh Duke. You could tell he was new.

[thatwaslucky]

Oh Duke.

"You would think," said Rey, who hadn't been immune to the public nudity herself, no matter how much she wanted to be.

And she could have elaborated more, and chose not to, because that sort of discovery really was a Fandom rite of passage.

"All right, I'll try the onsen, then."

[betterthanaplan]

"Tell me how you like it. Then maybe I can suggest other relaxation methods as well."

[thatwaslucky]

"I don't know, between this and the yoga, that sounds like quite a bit."

This, honestly, was only half a joke.