[PRP] Exes and Nos (Lawr + Harrison)

[Toshihiko Two]

Al being gone meant Harrison and Rep had to pull more bar shifts while they looked for a replacement. The island, overall, had been doing okay. No invading forces (magical or otherwise). No major adversaries gearing up for world domination (that he knew of). Just the ever-dangerous roulette of Missions, and folks who didn't come back. There were the dreams, too.

Which were better than they had been under Marie's reign of nightly terror. Rep hadn't talked too much about it, pretty similar the large number of things Rep didn't talk about real often.

Like Al being gone.

Which left Harrison with the job of keeping the place as not a health hazard. Not that they had health inspectors or anything, but he liked the business to be respectable. Rep (probably to the surprise of almost anyone that knew Rep) actually liked to help clean when he could, and especially if they were doing it together, but Rep's awareness of mess was not great. So for now, Harrison was sweeping up. If he was in a certain other bar that he owned he would have had more than one employee.

Baneful

 

[Baneful]

Rep hadn’t mentioned Al being gone because for the time being he had no idea that this was the case beyond a sulk. He’d gotten into an argument with the younger man and not long after Al had simply stopped coming to work, Rep had avoided the subject and bringing it up with him, assuming both that the other man had simply moved on - focusing all of his time on his new boyfriend – or simply no longer wanted to work with him. He’d taken up more shifts at the bar gladly as it helped at the very least to kill time between missions and remained wholly oblivious about the true nature of Al’s absence. He wasn’t there that night with Harrison, off on a duty off island and Lawrence – who followed quite a lot of people’s routines as a force of habit – knew that he wasn’t around to wander in on him.

The bar was dangerous territory for the short blonde man and a place which various people would rather he never set foot into at all, so he made a point of attending it whenever he could just to spite them. It was typical of his nature that he liked to openly defy people who attempted to foist rules upon him, avenging their foolish arrogance in minor ways. It was small daily victories which fuelled him.

When he entered the bar he set off the electronic chime which Rep had installed above the door (incidentally installed precisely to prevent sneaky bastards like him from getting into the place unnoticed) and made his way curiously over to where Harrison was sweeping. “Well, if there’s something you aren’t, it’s lazy.” he said casually, making an obvious point of standing away from the dust, as one did when one wore all white around the help.

There was always a certain satisfaction in seeing Harrison doing drudge work, given the high and mighty post he held in so many of his stranger dreams and the satisfaction was shared across the duplicate Lawrences. Lawrence did not vary a great deal between iterations of his self. “It’s about the piano.” He said, cutting right to the crux of the matter.  

[Toshihiko Two]

Harrison looked up at the jingle. Then he looked back down and kept doing what he was doing.

As for being lazy, he couldn't say the same for his visitor. Lawrence hadn't brought anybody, and before he spoke, there was no ******** telling what he wanted. Harrison hedged on some weird problem or complaint, as usual.

"Afternoon, Lawrence. ...Your piano, you mean. ******** apparently. What about it?"
 

[Baneful]

"Well." he said, moving over to sit on one of the bar stools. "I have a house now, so I would like the piano. However I'm not strong enough to move it. I was hoping I could enlist your help and potentially that of your husband." he shrugged and smirked.

"I was on a mission the other day you know." he said. "Hunting minipets. Jordan accompanied me, very handsome fellow. He did not have a lot of good things to say about you at all. Said it was a messy breakup and that it was mostly your fault. I figured I should mention it, it all sounded very odd and I was saying to myself the whole time why that's not at all like my friend Harrison. He was very rude to me over nothing."
 

[Toshihiko Two]

"Don't you got a bunch of cabana boys at your beck and call for heavy lifting s**t?" Harrison asked. "...You're free to haul it out of here whenever. So long as we're open. House, huh? Where at?"

He darkened a little at the mention of Jordan.

"My fault? He said it was my fault? Well....well, second time, damn right it ******** was, and I...what, his feeling still hurt about it? How come he was going on about it, and to you? I mean, s**t, it's been...I dunno, since January." Harrison was still hurt about it. "Why were you hanging out with Jordan?"  

[Baneful]

Lawrence kicked his legs in a dainty and rather effeminate manner, looking down at his perfectly polished shoes. “Melvin and Rodney are not at my beck and call.” He said. “In spite of how it might look from the outside. Anyway, you are stronger than they are and a Moon, I thought house moving was your division’s speciality. It’s on Peach Tree.” Because of course it was.

The response seemed to be what Lawr wanted as he nodded sympathetically. “He was just chatting to me, we had a duty and he seemed like he had a lot on his shoulders. We got along rather well.” And there was a cryptic edge to the way he smiled which potentially implied getting along very well indeed. “But to be honest I find you a more honest and amiable sort, I certainly owe you more – though right now we /do/ stand even as regards to honour due.”

He tilted his head in the direction of the bar. “Sell me a drink?” he said. “I’ll even pay in real money.”

Harrison got a keen interested sort of look. “If you’d entertain me I’d like to hear about it from you, I am trying to understand relationships a little better and it sounded like there was a lot of miscommunication between you all. Miscommunication is a …fear of mine.”  

[Toshihiko Two]

"Stronger," Harrison snorted, "Like you got noodles instead of arms."

He propped the broom up and headed behind the bar, rifling around in their stash.

"We're square. What are you having? Want something mixed up and fancy?"

He seemed slightly more rankled at the request for stories on Jordan, but hunched his shoulders and amped up the intensity of the rifling.

"You know what, why not. I got nothing to hide. First time we broke up, we was all engaged. Rep was dragging his feet on the wedding, started being a a*****e to Jordan. So Jordan gave back the ring, moved out, and ditched both of us. I thought me and him were fine, but one day we were together, the next day it was see you later and don't bother to ******** write. Like I was some kind of addendum. We weren't even fighting. And if he was trying to say that part was my ******** fault again he's a <******** liar. The problem was between him and Rep. I was just collateral. Not even important collateral."  

[Baneful]

"Much stronger." he all but purred.

Turning to face the bar he rested his bad arm on it. "Sure." he said "Whatever fancy drink you feel like making."

He listened to the other man's rant with careful attentiveness, plotting out a timeline of events as he talked. "He just left?" he said carefully. "How strange, you were just a plus one to Rep? Was he dating you at all? It sounds like there might have been some miscommunication somewhere. Perhaps he was simply interested in Rep and let you be part of it." He seemed troubled by this thought.

"That must be a horrible feeling. At least in my situation it was personal. I would have been quite devastated to be rejected without so much as even an explanation of why, without even mattering."

He shook his head. "I'm no longer surprised at how rude he was to me, I was simply chatting and out of nowhere he just turned around and told me I wasn't his friend. I was quite affronted, but perhaps its a habit he's adopted after his run in with you, shame he didn't adopt it sooner."

 

[Toshihiko Two]

"You are a walking pile of trouble, what Jordan avoids at all costs. Except when he's curious about s**t. Comes for the intrigue, leaves for the consequences. And all your sins are public record, available for his safely-from-afar perusal."

Harrison set out a few bottles and a cocktail glass.

"That's what I was saying. You're damn right it was horrible. Course, he has a tendency to disappear and come back when the heat's off, which I'm sure is what he was planning, but cooling heels is different from breaking up, and I don't do that s**t."  

[Baneful]

"I am sure what there is of my sins would make a riveting read." he said with just a touch of irritation, still somewhat annoyed about the intense big brother state he'd wandered into by joining the island. "Though I wouldn't say all of them." And he smirked "A significant proportion have been completely off the record."

"But certainly that is ridiculous. I can hardly believe that he would show such cowardice when it comes to resolving problems. Though I can't say it is surprising, he simply ran off after the mission we had also, perhaps afraid of how well we clicked. Was the avoidant behaviour consistent throughout the relationship or did he simply spring it on you? I admit I am concerned that I might run afoul of that same sort of flightiness in my own life and I want to at least be prepared."

He shrugged. "Most of the world are for want of a better word, utter bastards and that is fine and good, especially when you are a high ranking one yourself, but it seems to be the ones who convince you that maybe just maybe they aren't one who get you the hardest. I admit I was rather hurt by him making that rude we aren't friends comment after he'd spent the entire time being nothing but friendly and curious and so openly sharing his feelings on your relationship."

He watched the drink keenly the entire time.

 

[Toshihiko Two]

Harrison rolled his eyes at the how well we clicked comment.

"Throughout. You are both avoidy bastards," he said, "but don't act like your feelings are all hurt over it. Maybe got your pride slighted but it isn't the same damn thing. And everyone is some kind of b*****d. Everyone."

The resulting cocktail was something orange, creamy, and tangy, with a ring of gold sparkles. Harrison did not, however, shove it over. He held a palm out first.

"Eight dollars."  

[Baneful]

"My feelings can be hurt, pride is essentially the same thing in the end. I was trying to be friendly, he was rude instead. It wasn't logical at all and certainly I was slighted by it." he sighed dramatically. "And perhaps, though I think I've found someone who might not be, though I expect to be sorely disappointed in the end or at least to have my pride slighted."

The cocktail really did look rather fancy and he had learned his lesson the last time when he'd said that he had completely forgotten his money and Harrison only went ahead and drank the thing in front of him for trying.

With a sigh he patted his hip. "Fine though eight is quite extortionate." And with the sort of reluctance only present in someone who tried only to spend other people's money he undid his wallet from his belt, setting the white leather object on the table of the bar, opening it deftly with his only hand. Inside it was obvious he had a lot of money and in various currencies with the bright colours of euros nestled alongside the green of the more familiar dollar. There were also far more credit cards than one man could possibly own and 100 percent more credit cards than someone on the island could own. There was a battered looking tower tarot card which he also flicked past looking for the dollars.

He placed a crisp ten on the table and slid it towards the other man.

"I expect exact change, no tips."
 

[Toshihiko Two]

Harrison didn't exactly expect generous tipping. Squeezing any money out of Lawrence was like getting blood from a stone. Still, he took the ten and slid the drink over, counting out three one dollar bills.

"See if you change your mind after tasting it," he said generously. "You found a guy who's not a b*****d. And who, exactly, might that be?"

Harrison was about 100% sure it wasn't Melvin, because he knew Melvin, and about 90% sure it wasn't Rodney, because religious guys always had a bunch of self-righteous hangups. Even Jesus, Harrison was willing to wager, had been a bit of a b*****d. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone around pissing the other religious guys off.  

[Baneful]

Lawrence took a sip of the cocktail and quirked a critic's eyebrow. "Not bad." he said and curled his lip in the faintest smirk. "You are a veritable fount of hidden talents mister Hughes. Still, no tips." And the wallet was put away again with startling nimbleness for a man who liked to play up the problems a missing hand presented.

He wasn't sure how they got to talking about him when it was supposed to be about Jordan but he decided to let it skim for a time.

"Rodney." he said matter-of-factly. "I find it rare and endearing that someone can genuinely believe in the goodness of others. Utterly deluded perhaps but a b*****d, no." He took another sip. "What exactly are the factors which make you think you are able to handle someone but which would make you keep someone else at arm's length?"

 

[Toshihiko Two]

"I'm a talented guy. Rodney? Listen, he judges himself pretty hard. You don't go around judging yourself and not getting a little judgement all over other people. If he thinks everyone's good, well, he's just ******** wrong. ...He thinks you're good?" Harrison asked with amused skepticism.

At the last question, Harrison said, "Well, I'll tell you what, I don't fault or dislike anybody, on account of them being bastards. You just know what a person's like, and you don't trust them not to do s**t they're always going to do. For example. If you know the moment you tell Person A something, it's going to be all over Twitter, even if you ask them to keep it private? You don't tell Person A s**t you don't want on Twitter. Everyone's bastards, sure. But everyone's not bastards to everybody about everything."