[Video]

[beenwaitinglong]

[It's time for Diego's weekly coffee sampler at his usual coffee shop. He sits in the booth, watching the clouds moving outside the window as his NV turns on, deeply enjoying his fourth cup of coffee (out of six...teen.)

With a deep breath, he turns back to the NV.]

I've had just about enough of this wishy-washy cold climate and the general malaise that comes with it. The tepid mediocrity of a cool, gray day, no rain, no shine, just a weak and half-hearted attempt at weather.

[He takes a sip and sighs.]

Los Angeles was beautiful and sunny. Through the smog, the breeze from the sea would bring the occasional burst of fresh air-- making it all the more precious when you managed to get a whiff of it. [He smiles vaguely at the thought, then sets down his now-empty cup.]

Yes. All this cold weather, stress and paperwork is catching up with me. Rare as this is, I think it's time I spent an evening out, get my mind off things.

Anyone want to go to Merlotte's tonight?

Comments

[voice]

[ergomaniac]

...Hmph. I didn't think the smog was as bad as some people made it out to be.

[beenwaitinglong]

It had its good days and its bad days. Nothing like that nice, brown cloud hanging over the bay to get you all warm and fuzzy inside.

[ergomaniac]

It's still one of the most remarkable places in the world.

[beenwaitinglong]

No argument here. I lived there all my life.

[ergomaniac]

Never anywhere else? You did go to law school there, if I recall correctly.

[beenwaitinglong]

I grew up in the outskirts and moved into the city itself when I was in law school.

[ergomaniac]

Best of both worlds, then, I suppose.

[beenwaitinglong]

Yes. It was nice.

Where did you live with your father?

[ergomaniac]

...Seal Beach, believe it or not. My father drove in every day.

[beenwaitinglong]

Really? That's quite a drive.

I grew up in La Puente.

[ergomaniac]

Well. He didn't want to leave our home. But - out near the City of Industry, right?

[beenwaitinglong]

Yes. My grandfather worked in one of the warehouses out there, and my mother was a nursing assistant.

[ergomaniac]

They must have worked hard indeed to put you through college.

[beenwaitinglong]

They did. [The sound of a soft laugh through a smile.] And all that after I was such a pain in the ass growing up.

It was worth it when I had the money to take care of them. There was no other job I felt as strongly about.

[ergomaniac]

Have they passed?

[beenwaitinglong]

Yes. He passed away when I was 20 and she when I was 25.

They never had to see me... you know. At my worst.

[ergomaniac]

...I'll not call that any sort of blessing, but...It's - good.

[beenwaitinglong]

I took some comfort in it.

voice;

[awakenings]

This is a first. You're usually fine with doing work into some ungodly hour of the morning.

[beenwaitinglong]

Right? This is truly an odd turn of events.

[awakenings]

Is it really just the season that's getting you down or has some annoying case managed it's way onto your desk?

[beenwaitinglong]

A little of column A, a little of column B.

Though I'd guess nobody's always satisfied shutting themselves away every night.

[awakenings]

If you wanted to go out sometime, Diego, you could have just said so. Besides, you still said you'd drop by and babysit those monsters I have at home.

[...She means the kittens.]

[beenwaitinglong]

I know. But I've been busy, and so have you.

[A pause.]

But I'm never too busy for kittens, especially monstrous ones.

[awakenings]

Touché.

[She smiles a little.]

Know any tricks to keep them from climbing all over you when you're trying to feed them?

[beenwaitinglong]

Why would you ever want to do that?

[awakenings]

Because they stick there and then I can't walk around without being afraid of them falling. It's bad enough they've ruined a pair of my pants that way.

[beenwaitinglong]

They're cats. They can take a little tumble off your pants. And then they'll learn not to do that.

[awakenings]

But they're so small.

[beenwaitinglong]

They're sturdier than they look when it comes to tumbles. Same with when they're leaping and tackling one another.

[awakenings]

You're sure? The last thing I need is to have a label like "animal endangerment" on my record because one of my kittens hurt itself.

[Video]

[bestseller]

I'm from New York; the cold weather doesn't bother me. But for someone from Los Angeles, I can see why you'd hate the temperature.

Merlotte's huh? Sounds tempting. [He smiles. A drink might be really good at the moment, but as long as he doesn't overdo it. Alan's been a bit of an abuser with alcohol before, so he needs to be wary of his intake.]

[beenwaitinglong]

Ugh. No offense, amigo, but you can keep the east coast and her weather. Way too cold for a California boy like me.

Ha...! You don't get a much nicer establishment around here. Newcomer-owned and staffed.

[bestseller]

Gladly.

Don't get me wrong, I like Los Angeles, they've got some really nice beaches, but I don't want to live there.

[There's a smile on his face.] No brainer here, but I'm guessing the place is a restaurant with the typical bar where all the locals hang right?

[beenwaitinglong]

Well now... some of the locals. Some are more inclined to the corporate clubs of varying levels of seediness. And some like that vampire bar.

I can't comment on many of them because I sadly don't get out much. Though Sam Merlotte's a good guy. His place is a safe bet.

[bestseller]

I need to get out more. But I just got here, so really, I'm looking for places to go.

Wait, vampire bar? Yeah, I think I'll avoid that place. [Because honestly, he doesn't expect it to be real vampires -which, considering everything that's here he should- but Alan thinks it's more a place where fans of vampire myth can live out their fantasies. Blood, glitter, whatever kink goes with it.]

[beenwaitinglong]

[Alan has no idea how right he is. And yet, how wrong.]

Why don't you join me at Merlotte's tonight? We've yet to meet in person.

[bestseller]

You know, that sounds like a great idea.

[True. Alan hasn't meant Diego in person yet and would really enjoy the company.]

[beenwaitinglong]

[That way they can get all the questions about the thing on Diego's face out of the way, Diego figures.]

Six, maybe. You'll have to commute home in the darkness unless we hurry, but the subways are fairly safe.

[bestseller]

[What thing on his face? :D]

I can brave the subways; done it back home many times. Faced plenty of monsters there.

[beenwaitinglong]

[Thanks, Alan. You're a bro.]

Well there you have it. See you at Merlotte's at six, then.

Video

[fightswithpurpose]

I like the weather well enough here. I lived in a desert, though.

[beenwaitinglong]

See? It's all in how you look at things.

[fightswithpurpose]

The only sunlight we had was artificial sunlight, so varied weather was a new experience for me.

Is there anything you like better about this weather than in Los Angeles?

[beenwaitinglong]

I like the occasional rain. Sometimes it was hard to come by in California, but this is cold rain, not the nice, fresh rain from the sea you'd get back home.

[fightswithpurpose]

What about summer rain on the beach here during the day? Would that not be fresh and from the sea?

[beenwaitinglong]

Sure, but who wants to wait until summer for that?

[fightswithpurpose]

[Nelliel looks faintly amused.]

Summer isn't that far away. And you can look forward to it in the meantime.