Day 64: Cafeteria (brunch)

[gald_digger]

Well, that went well! Anise had gained herself a gorgeously handsome new friend. She just hoped that weird illness didn't get either of them killed before she could get to know him any better.

... Yeah, that was morbid. It was hard not to think about, though.

Before going to the Cafeteria, Anise made a stop at her room to grab her journal, maps, and a pen. Once she finished eating, she could get a start on copying the maps for Barnaby. He was going to be so glad he met her!

With that done, Anise made her way to the Cafeteria, where she picked up an assortment of food, making sure to get some meat, vegetables, and milk on her tray. She then sat down at a table and set her notes aside while she started on her meal. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about the rash on her arm, though the makeup she used had blended the discolored part enough that it couldn't be seen from a distance. Anise just hoped no one would come specifically looking for it.

[Ilia!]

Comments

[baniichan]

Perhaps a movie would be good for morale, but even so -- Barnaby had no use for such frivolous activities at a time like this. If he was lucky, the staff would let him go somewhere else during those shifts. On the other hand, his nurse probably wasn't the person he needed to worry about.

Upon hearing one of the choices was an opera, Barnaby gave him a flat look. Maybe the old man was trying to make himself look more well-versed in classical art forms than he actually was, or maybe he was just plain ignorant about them altogether. Either way, he wasn't impressed.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said once he'd taken a sip of his water. "I'm quite familiar with operas, and there wasn't a single one on that list."

[oyaji]

His chewing sped up tremendously, because he had a lot to argue about and he had to hurry before Barnaby moved on to another topic! "Uh, excuse you, there so is!" Wild Tiger finally informed his fickle friend, pointing his clean fork in his direction to drive his point home.

"Jesus Christ Superstar is an opera." Ha, he felt so smart right then! He would show Barnaby just how hip and savvy he was--Not that the movie was all that new and hip, but still! It was the little things in life that you had to stack on each other until they created one giant little thing and it transformed into a robot of worldliness! Yeah!

[baniichan]

"Maybe a rock opera," Barnaby pointedly corrected him, "but the last time I checked, that wasn't the same thing as an opera."

Honestly. Who could confuse that for the Italian classics his parents had listened to when he was a child? It could have been his imagination, but Barnaby thought he could feel yesterday's headache pressing against his temples again.

Lips slightly pursed, he picked up his fork and speared a piece of melon with it.

[oyaji]

"Pbbhh, whatever, it so is!" Wild Tiger corrected once more. "It's an opera that rocks!" Thus it was an opera. It had the word in its genre! It was practically the same thing.

He just sat back in his seat and waited for his feedback on that stellar pun. Man, even with this cold, the older man hadn't lost his touch.

[baniichan]

Barnaby resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, and instead took a bite of his fruit. The flavor was mild and mediocre, which was a little obnoxious, but not nearly as frustrating as hearing Kotetsu claim a movie was part of his favorite genre when it wasn't.

"You can keep telling yourself that," he simply told him, "but a rock opera isn't an opera. If they were, you'd probably be begging me to take you to the opera house every weekend." As far as he was concerned, that was the end of discussion.

[oyaji]

Wild Tiger laughed and relented. "Okay, okay, fine! But still, it is something I've wanted to see and it's perfectly plausible that it does rock ins some capacity." He had heard a few of the songs when he was younger in passing or through a co-worker. It was definitely his kind of music.

"So, how 'bout it? We should watch it, you know, together!" The older man was getting a little ahead of himself (the movie hadn't even been picked by the patients yet), but that was nothing new. He was genuinely excited about this and he wanted his partner to share in that energy with him, even if it wasn't the young man's usual style. "We need to broaden your horizons," he ribbed.

[baniichan]

At least Kotetsu could admit he was wrong about them being the same genre, even if his anticipation for possibly getting to watch that particular film hadn't waned.

Secretly, he was rather pleased Kotetsu would offer to spend time with him even if it wasn't for any specific purpose aside from waiting for Nightshift to come. But with how preoccupied Barnaby was with a lot of things today, he wasn't sure if he'd make for good company.

"This isn't really the time for things like that," Barnaby sighed as he lowered his fork.

[oyaji]

"What--? Of course it is!" Wild Tiger argued without any real fervency. These kinds of battles were par for the course in their partnership and the old man wasn't going to let Barnaby wallow in this little funks of his. It was his personal duty to drag the blond out of his frowny corner and into the corner of Tiger awesome!

"Look, you can't be on the clock all the time, right? We have to live our own lives, too." It was a fact he sure as hell struggled with. Even off duty and back in his apartment, he often brought his work back with him. It festered within him, especially when he lost a civilian that night. But he also knew that there were things to help alleviate the things that haunted him, like talking with his daughter. He realized almost too late that he owed it to some people to take a moment to unwind and be a normal person even for a few hours.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying the moment--That's usually all we got--Or had, I guess," he corrected with a forlorn sigh, but he rallied with a deep breath as he set both hands down on the table in front of his partner. "And I wanna enjoy my time watching a movie with you! Is that so wrong?" Ha, let's see Barnaby sigh his way out of that one! His tactic practically hit below the belt, but Wild Tiger didn't particularly care. It may have been only a day since they had talked in Barnaby's mind, but the older man had seen months without his partner. They both needed time to heal and reflect, sure, but distance hadn't exactly been the answer for the older man. Depression grew with every monotonous day and he didn't have anyone to talk to who could understand.

Now, it was him and Barnaby against the world and, as selfish as it was, Wild Tiger wanted to take advantage of that.

[baniichan]

For whatever reason, Kotetsu was adamant about watching this film with him. Although Barnaby still felt like it was a frivolous way to spend their time, he couldn't help but be struck by how much his partner wanted to spend a couple of peaceful hours with him. Was it really so important?

Perhaps it was Kotetsu's way of making up for some of the things that had happened before Barnaby's arrival. On the other hand, he'd never known the man to insist on stopping a moment to smell the roses, especially when there was a crisis at hand. Once again, Barnaby was reminded of the way Kotetsu had fit comfortably in his arms that night they'd first bumped into each other at Landel's. He was different from the man he'd fought with at the ice skating rink, but it was difficult to understand all the nuances behind the change.

Barnaby was perplexed, but he was also interested to try to figure things out.

He took another sip of his drink. "You're not going to leave me alone about it, either, are you," Barnaby deadpanned. His cup may have been hiding the faint curve of his lips, but Kotetsu didn't have to know that.

Of course, his softening gaze was a bit more difficult to conceal. Even though he felt horrible, Kotetsu had a way with nudging his mood into a more positive direction when he least expected it.

[oyaji]

"Nope!" Wild Tiger agreed with a triumphant grin. One of his fingers swept across some mayonnaise that had dripped off on his plate and he licked it clean. He was about to take another bite of his meal when he suddenly didn't feel very well.

The smile on his face slowly receded, his dark skin grew a tinge paler, and his amber gaze narrowed to a spot on the cafeteria table. A cold shiver ran up his spine and his palms began to sweat. The older man knew exactly what was about to happen, but there wasn't enough time to get to the bathroom. He did his best to hide his sudden discomfort, but it was pretty obvious that something was wrong.

[baniichan]

And just like that, the color seemed to drain from Kotetsu's face. Barnaby's eyebrows furrowed in concern as he leaned forward, one of his hands suddenly gripping onto the table's surface.

"Tiger," he said, remembering to avoid Kotetsu's real name despite the worry mounting in the pit of his stomach. "You look pale. Are you all right?"