I'm a Classic Man

[eyeforaneye]

[A] Hillingdon Deals

It's around seven p.m. when he more or less sets up shop, having advertised his wares -- discreetly obtained and discounted hardware supplies, chemicals, and weaponry -- largely through word-of-mouth in the weeks prior. Having regular customers at his store and a newfound willingness to barter have certainly helped, and Sasuke's printed out a few concise lists of what he has in stock for people to peruse.

Maybe he should add a sign saying he does delivery.

[B] Grocery Shopping

Sasuke is a list-maker, and a thorough one. Maybe it's a short list today, sure, but that makes it no less important. And the very item that you just reached for? It's the same one he has his hand on, leading to an awkward staredown that he refuses to look away from.

This is the last one. He's not giving up.

[C] Late Night

He's not an excessive drinker by any means but he's lived in London for the entirety of his conscious memory and knows that a solid cure for a stressful day is a pint and a secluded table at a pub. This would probably be working better for him if he weren't too busy giving suspicious looks to note exactly where his beer is at all times... and would probably keep him from knocking it all over onto the ground.

Sorry if some splashes your leg. It's been a long day.

[D] Choose your own adventure!

Comments

B somehow, it's a time warp

[detectiveofthewest]

It was a tomato plant. Specifically, the seedling of a rather particular heirloom strain. Heiji returned the stare.

"Oh, come on. I've seen your apartment. All you've got is a bird."

agaaaainnn (rocky horror cast dances in bg)

[eyeforaneye]

"Exactly." All he has is a bird. He needs this more than you.

"Let it go, Monkey Paw."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Are you still mad about that?" He didn't let it go, though. No. This was his plant. He'd take better care of it than Sasuke, who'd probably kill it with loneliness and sad.

"Pick some other houseplant! There's plenty of normal tomatoes over there!"

[eyeforaneye]

Sasuke looks at Heiji. He looks at the plant. His grip tightens.

"Piss off and get one from a different store, then. This one is mine." This is the best one he's seen in any store and he has looked.

[detectiveofthewest]

"No way! I'm gonna use this for my Suquet de Peix!" What the fuck was that. Whatever it was, he wasn't letting go of the plant.

"You don't even have any houseguests, you're just gonna eat 'em all yourself!"

[eyeforaneye]

Low blow, dude. Low blow.

"Use something else for your stew; this one is mine. I refuse to settle again." He is very cultured on food, especially food that involves tomatoes. Step back.

"... I will take the recipe later, however."

[detectiveofthewest]

"What? Where you gonna take it from? And why would I give it to you? Anyway, you're not supposed to have tomatoes around cockatiels; they could eat it and get sick."

Shoo, Sasuke. Shoo and get yourself one of those plebian tomato cultivars.

d - wildcards it up

[megidoomed]

Aradia doesn't often come to Redbright. It's nearing the edge of how far she can go before her focus snaps like elastic and throws her back to her Haunt, and crossing the Thames always takes so much effort that it's usually easier to just... not.

But today there was nothing interesting happening on the southern side of London, and it pushes her past the river towards the infamous supernatural school. Because if she's going to be bored regardless, it might as well be around people who can tell that she exists.

Unfortunately, she's still bored as hell, and it's manifesting as her dropping pens on random students she bumps into. Sorry, Sasuke.

awww yeah

[eyeforaneye]

For his own part he's trying to get to the next class he's planning to shadow, having just recently enrolled but without any official courses on his roster apart from one... but the biro that suddenly flicks him in the forehead makes Sasuke immediately stop, whipping back around.

This is not a joke.

"Who was it?" His head tilts upward to follow the trajectory, focused on a seemingly innocuous spot. "... that energy is familiar. It's you, isn't it?"

[megidoomed]

It seems a pretty amusing joke to Aradia, if the brief chuckle is any indication. She's gotten an interesting array of reactions so far, from alarmed students to an annoyed teacher or two, and it's done nothing but encourage her mischievous habits.

But that grumpy voice rings a bell, and once she places it the laugh fades. Welp, busted by that kid who cares too much about chocolate fountains. "So that's what you look like. You need a haircut, it's pretty uneven at the back."

[eyeforaneye]

The laugh has a quiet unearthly ring to it and he's even more convinced of his suspicions, that sour expression only growing more so.

"I get told that a lot." And yet he refuses to change the style, loyal to it to a fault. Maybe it's nostalgia.

"Why are you throwing all this shit at people?"

[megidoomed]

He looks like he bit a lemon by mistake. It's the best reaction she's gotten from the pens so far. "If you hear it a lot, that probably means they're right." Just sayin', dude.

"And I dunno. I got bored, I guess. It seemed like a fun thing to do."

Aradia shrugs, idly batting around another pen from where she's sitting. Not everything needs some mysterious reason.

[eyeforaneye]

"When I get bored I usually read a book, not throw things at people." To be entirely fair.

"You know that I can't easily see you without you focusing harder to project yourself, right? It'd make the conversation easier."

C

[emotioneater]

It's alright, Sasuke. Smelling like a beer is just what Cooper is looking for this night. He'd be more annoyed if it was a stranger who did it and not someone he's already met. He tuts at Sasuke and shakes his head. "Now that's just a cryin' shame, wasting good beer like that." Whether he wants it or not, he's now got the vampire pulling up a chair to his table. Cooper sits backwards in it, using the back of the chair to prop his arms up.

[eyeforaneye]

The look he shoots his new drinking companion is fully purposeful but the hand that jerks up to brush over his neck is much less so, having a certain recent incident that he needs to get over and seeing another vampire will either be good for that or make it worse. Time will tell.

"... Cooper. Somehow I didn't picture you coming out to a place like this." Can vampires get drunk? A question for another time, maybe.

[emotioneater]

"Why? Didja picture me sittin' in a coffin in some Gothic, moldy old mansion?" He grins at the image in his head. Cooper's far too down to earth to be engaging in nonsense like that. A drink down at the local is much more his style.

"I come for the alcohol 'n stay for the company." No better way to keep tabs on what's going on in the city than to listen in to the pub gossip.

[eyeforaneye]

He thinks to encourage the other man's discretion but for what purpose? Anyone overhearing them wouldn't believe what he's hinting at anyway so they already have that protection.

"I meant I pictured you in some place even less reputable, maybe in the middle of a brawl. That's the impression you give off with your clothing choices, anyway." Sasuke raises a hand to signal a waitress, lifting two fingers. "She'll bring a pint over for you too."

[emotioneater]

Sasuke's words cause a quick burst of laughter from Cooper. "You have me pegged down exactly right." He hadn't even told Sasuke he'd been part of an actual biker gang back in America. Cooper actually looks down to see what he's wearing today. Simple clothing, the least wrinkled plain white shirt and a jean jacket that looks a few decades behind the times.

Cooper's eyes light up when the pint arrives. He tips it in Sasuke's direction. "Thanks for the drink. Here's to never drinkin' alone. It produces nothing but alcoholics 'n regrets." Then he takes a deep gulp of the draught.

[eyeforaneye]

"Are you saying I was a regretful alcoholic until you came along?" Well, he's at least one of those things. Which one would be worse is still up for debate, really. That said he dismisses the question with a shake of his head, willing to pull his punches as he indulges in his own drink.

"It seemed cliche for you to like Guinness but I see I wasn't mistaken anyway."

D

[mensrea]

The last time Stiles visited a zoo, it had been in fourth grade and he’d gotten trapped in the giraffe enclosure. He’s never been able to look at those freaky black tongues the same way. Today, however, he has traveled to the London zoo on a mission. Since worming his way into police department here is next to impossible without the right contacts, he’ll need to do his research the old fashioned way—snooping from the opposite end. There has to have been incidents involving wildlife in the city. He knows now that the Night Council exists to take care of such matters…but really, they sound kind of creepy and power-trippy. Stiles hopes the zoo might have reports the Night Council ignored or overlooked. Worth a shot, right?

Stiles has just purchased a ticket when he spots a familiar head of black hair. Before he can stop himself, he calls out the other boy’s name.

“Sasuke?”

Stiles's name is just a dash forever

[eyeforaneye]

It's a rare day off for him and a chance to actually indulge in one of his hobbies that doesn't involve the supernatural world or explorations of it. A stress-free experience, just a day at the zoo without work or clouded thoughts or that voice are you serious.

Sasuke freezes up completely, ticket stub slowly being crushed in his hand as he turns his head back to confirm what he already knows.

"You. —." His Polish pronunciation is improving. He could not be less proud of that fact.

he would likely prefer that tbqh

[mensrea]

Stiles is less than impressed. In fact, he’s downright sullen that Sasuke can so effortlessly pronounce the name. It took him years to learn how to wrap his tongue around the consonants. His grandparents would probably adore the guy, he realizes grumpily.

“Stiles,” he says with pointed emphasis, waggling his own ticket in Sasuke’s face. “Don’t go throwing that name around where anyone can hear.”

It’s embarrassing, dude!

“I didn’t really peg you for attractions like this.”

There are so many ways that phrasing can be twisted, but he’s actually oblivious for once.

Dash Stilinski I told you to set the table

[eyeforaneye]

"A 'stile' is a passageway; it isn't a person." Disregarding Juila Stiles. And even then it's not a first name.

"But fine, take on whatever inanimate object you want because you're ashamed of your overly cumbersome name. It isn't my issue." How dare you disrespect grand traditions.

"And don't act like you have any idea how to peg me at all when you know so little about me." Well he's oblivious too so we're good. "Why are you here?"

INFINITELY BETTER THAN SARADA OR BORUTO

[mensrea]

God, he doesn’t understand how one person can be so impossible. There’s a part of him that fantasizes about building a time machine simply so he can travel back four weeks when Past Stiles first entered the hardware store. Sasuke doesn’t need pity; he needs a slap upside the head. And maybe an authoritative figure in his life, since it’s clear there is none. With a hugely exaggerated roll of his eyeballs, Stiles decides to ignore everything the other boy said up until the inquiry.

“I’m here for an arts and crafts session with the hyenas. I figured we’d start off with something easy, like macaroni art. Then maybe some watercolors next week. What the hell do you think I’m doing at a zoo?”

Seriously, Sasuke. Do you have any other scathingly idiotic questions to ask while Stiles’ sarcasm is still fresh.

Sarada Dash Stilinski I told you to set the table

[eyeforaneye]

"Given the trend of our meetings that far too often place you in a situation where you're endangering yourself or others, you don't want me to actually answer that question." What's Stiles up to? No good, he responds like the sixty-year-old sheriff in a movie from the sixties.

"... just don't cause trouble. This is important for me." As he starts very carefully and possibly neurotically smoothing out his ticket again.