OOM: Surprise Blind Date with Nancy

[thesupersmeller]

After his heart to heart with Demeter, as they were always heart to heart with her, and all the confusion he's felt between his body, mind, and most of all his heart, Gus is more at ease than before but without any answers. He's already told The Devil once and for all it's off, he doesn't want to be that guy that keeps an open option - especially not an open option that could destroy him... and maybe still would. He's not that guy at all. Instead, he's been going through the motions; closing the case and helping get everything ready for the impending party.

The day after Juliet's birthday party, he gets a text message from Shawn telling him to be at Milliways as soon as possible at a bench by the lake. Later, it would occur to him that Shawn was clearly up to something - but as he walks a slow circle around the bench in the pink silk shirt and black slacks he'd worn to work for the day and waits for his friend to show it's more annoying than anything.

Comments

[thesupersmeller]

"Seven? Wow... and you're...?" He can't help but ask, it's that linger feeling that he's the old guy at the table, child or no.

"I mean, not that it's a really big deal, I'm, uh... I'm thirty-five."

[iamhismummy]

"23", she answers easily. "I don't mind about you being older if you don't."

[thesupersmeller]

He considers it for a moment and then shakes his head; "No, I mean - if it works it works. You're a very interesting woman, Nancy."

Taking another sip of his wine, he asks softly; "And you're doing it all on your own out there?"

[iamhismummy]

"Mostly", she confirms. "There's a doctor who helps when we need him, he's going to help me be a nurse when the war's over."

[thesupersmeller]

[ooc: Oh man, I'm sorry! I didn't get a notif for this & was just about to message and check on you! My bad!]

"That's good," he nods slowly, sipping his wine. "Wow, I just... wow. And are things looking like the war will end soon?"

[iamhismummy]

[I was wondering! DW's usually good about that...]

"Hard to say", she says with a slight shrug. "They've been saying it'll end any day now for... four years."

[thesupersmeller]

[ooc: Pretty sure it's yahoo. *sigh*]

"Ouch," he's not about to compare it to the history he knows - who knows how different her Earth is from his, anyway.

"So, I guess you don't really get a chance to get out much? Millways must be a really nice way to forget about all the bad stuff."

[iamhismummy]

"I get out and about", she says wryly. "Just not usually for fun. Sneak into the back of the pictures sometimes... and yes, Milliways is a godsend."

[thesupersmeller]

He laughs slightly and nods; "It's a good place to get away from things."

Gus shrugs and offers a slight smile; "Or, you know, find new things."

[iamhismummy]

"And new things are always good to experience", she says with a cheerful nod. "And in no short supply here."

[thesupersmeller]

The easy pleasantness is contagious, anyone in her position Gus would expect to be sullen and withdrawn - not the sweet girl sitting across from him. It's pretty nice, really... and definitely a change from his mood when he walked through the door.

"You're telling me! Would you believe I've made friends with two goddesses, and a guy that reads minds?" He almost mentions The Devil, but there's no sense in admitting association with her at this point.

[iamhismummy]

She grins.

"A doctor from... around your time, thinking about it, the tribal king I mentioned, and there was a girl who glowed like a rainbow but I haven't seen her in a long time."

[thesupersmeller]

Shaking his head, Gus lets out a light chuckle; "A rainbow? For serious? Like Rainbow Brite?" Who he knows Nancy wouldn't know of, but just can't resist asking rhetorically if nothing else.

"Oh! Last time I tended bar, I met a computer program. Pure data in physical form."

He finishes the last of his wine and picks up the bottle, pouring another shallow glass before offering to top off hers with a silent nod of the bottle.

[iamhismummy]

She nods and tilts her glass towards him in acceptance, smiling.

"Computers... the things like typewriters with screens? I've seen them here, not used one. And yeah, she was all rainbow light and she could fly and blast things with it."

[thesupersmeller]

With an easy turn of the wrist, he fills her glass - the easy grin plastered across his lips. Computers, of course she wouldn't know about computers. He's slowly getting used to people not knowing about the same things his world takes for granted.

"Yeah, that exactly." He nods, and then asks; "Have you eaten yet? I'm pretty hungry and if you don't want to eat here, I wouldn't mind maybe going back to my place."

It takes a second before he realizes just how he sounds, but he adds hurriedly; "I mean my world, not... you know my place necessarily, but Santa Barbra. Where I'm from. I live there."

Smooth.

[iamhismummy]

She raises her eyebrows at him, but more in amusement than offence, especially when he reaches the hasty clarification.

"I haven't eaten, and I'd love to see your world." With a glance down at her dress, "If this would fit in there?"

[thesupersmeller]

Glad that she either didn't catch his slip or was gracious enough not to mention it, Gus nods even more eagerly.

"Oh, please. I'm from California - you'd fit right in with the cute bohemian looking girls that all want to look like you do but instead just look like they rolled out of a thrift store."

After a moment of of consideration, he says; "I know a really nice outdoor place by the beach, I bet you'd love it."

[iamhismummy]

"You know the city, I'll follow your decisions about it", she says with a smile. "Outdoor place by the beach it is."

[thesupersmeller]

Taking one last long drink off his wine, Gus decides that'd probably be for the best - and it's near the Psych office so they won't have to drive anywhere unless she wants to. It's pretty different from the only other time he's taken someone to his world.

"Sure, sounds good to me. I, uh... I guess I'm good to go when you are."

[iamhismummy]

Nancy finishes off her own glass and nods.

"I'm ready now, then."

[thesupersmeller]

Taking people between worlds unnerves Gus a little, kind of like Stranger in a Strange Land except because it's him, it's a little more Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . He worries that the other person will be scared or disoriented.

But, Nancy seems to know what she's doing. As he leads her to the door, he says; "It was close to dusk when I left, so it should be cooling off nicely and we'll be close to the Ocean."

[iamhismummy]

"That'll be nice", she says sincerely. "I haven't seen the sea since I was little, only the river."

[thesupersmeller]

Smiling again, Gus pushes open the door and when they come through the other side they step out of a bank of rescued lockers from the school that he and Shawn went to as kids. There's even a Johnny Depp poster circa 1990 hanging on the door of the one Gus wedges himself out of.

"Welcome to the Psych office," he says with a casual wave of his hands. He's actually pretty proud of it, being that it's the base for the business he and Shawn have been running for almost six years now.

"This is where Shawn & I do our paperwork and hang out when we're not doing other things."

[iamhismummy]

She looks around, taking it all in.

"Nice office. I like the personal touches, it's your own company?"

[thesupersmeller]

Gus plucks his keys off the hook by the coat rack, following it up with his light jacket which just gets hung over his arm.

"Yeah, well - me and Shawn. We've been in business together about six years now. I know it doesn't really look like private detective agency, but I assure you we are all professional." Well, he is... Shawn uses cats as witnesses and hero worships and art thief.

"You can check it out if you like," he offers, going over to his desk to subtly flip over an issue of Maxim. "I don't really know what's interesting to you."