MHA #15, Monday Evening

[pocketpretzels]

The weekend had been successful, Watts couldn't help but think. He'd finally gotten to meet Layla, who Steven spoke so highly of and Marc was typically close-lipped about. George had met Steven (albeit not Marc, which was unfortunate, but there had been a desire not to complicate things considering George was only here for the weekend) and Layla as well, and had even ended up with an idea for a new novel out of the experience. And there had been other interesting people he'd met as well, including Annie's friend Kimiko, who despite her inability to speak managed to communicate quite well in a way that Watts frankly found refreshing because it was just so... honest. Less successful had been the pumpkin-carving he'd attempted yet again, so the less said about that the better.

But now it was date night, which Watts also hoped would be successful. Everything was laid out on the table: apples and honey, butternut squash soup, seven vegetable couscous, brussels sprouts with pomegranate molasses, honeyed carrots and roasted chickpeas and vegan challah.

Had he prepared any of this himself? Absolutely not. He'd not even sliced the apples; those he'd picked up from the store pre-sliced, and everything else had been picked off a list of suggested menu items when he'd stopped by Luke's to place the order. And then there was of course whatever Steven was bringing for dessert. Was it likely way too much food for two people? Yeah. But hey, who didn't like leftovers, right?

For after dinner, Watts had his speaker queued up with a waltz-appropriate playlist that he'd compiled for dancing lessons. Now, of course, all he needed was the boyfriend.

[ooc: for the dance partner!]

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

"It's a country near Singapore," Steven said. Then, since the point of the example was to remember how entire countries could be different between worlds, he added, "Southeast Asia. Marc thought coming here was going to be like that, actually. Place that's, erm, used to people who might not be welcome elsewhere."

Many of whom were not welcome because they were outlaws, but it wasn't limited to that.

[pocketpretzels]

Well, Marc wasn't entirely wrong, either. Fandom had seen its share of residents on the run from the law throughout the years.

"Hm," Watts mused. "I suppose it's possible it just doesn't exist yet in my own world." But the truth was he suspected there were much bigger differences than just the century-and-change between his own world and Steven's.

[hasaknightjob]

"Could be," Steven said. "Europe alone's gone through loads of changes in the past... twenty years maybe? Countries starting, stopping, changing shape and all."

Of course Steven wasn't the best judge of both timing and facts when it came to things like this, but on the other hand it just went to show how much change there was if even he picked up on it.

[pocketpretzels]

"As I've discovered when looking in to what I ought to bring when it's my turn to provide lunch," Watts said.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven looked delighted at this piece of information. "Never occurred to me, that. Either one of us could be trying to find a particular place and not realizing it's not because there's no restaurants that deliver, it's that we're asking in a place where it doesn't exist. Wild."

[pocketpretzels]

"Sometimes I end up distracted, reading about when this country became that, or gained independence, or whatnot," Watts admitted. Hey, Steven, guess what? You were dating a nerd.

[hasaknightjob]

Given the way this information only made Steven look at Llewellyn with growing fondness, this was not actually something Steven considered a problem. "Good thing we caught you up on the internet then. Otherwise I might lose you to the library for days at a time."

Which also sounded nice, actually, but in that case Steven would prefer they were lost together.

[pocketpretzels]

"Mm, the internet is very useful," Watts admitted. "But there's still something to be said for holding a physical book." Which is why one of their stops on their holiday was to a library, yeah.

[hasaknightjob]

"Advantages to both," Steven agreed. Because there was a reason he liked that one of their stops was a library. "Still. Nice benefit to our little lunches. More ways for you to learn about all the things that have happened."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts nodded. And then, because they'd gotten a little off-track: "Did you run into anyone interesting, over the weekend?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Met Liz's Hellboy," Steven said. "That was me and Marc. Liz told him about us, actually. She had our permission. It was actually nice? A surprise at first but then it was a relief not to have to worry about lying the whole time. Good practice, when you think about it."

[pocketpretzels]

"And that's the very first time that's happened, isn't it?" Watts checked. "Meeting someone who already knew."

[hasaknightjob]

"First time ever," Steven said. "Well, with a new person anyway. Crawley knew all the while but it was me catching up then. Different when it's someone you're meeting the first time and right out the gate you can be honest. Well, Marc right out the gate. He met him first. But I was able to come in while they were chatting and it was no problem at all, me taking over. I mean he had questions. Everyone would, I'd imagine. But I could do it. Like we can around you. It was nice."

[pocketpretzels]

"Good," Watts said, reaching over to squeeze Steven's hand briefly. "I'm glad you had that, both of you. And, I'm assuming, the conversation was a pleasant one overall?"

[hasaknightjob]

"He showed me pictures of his cats," Steven said. Which was really the only answer needed. At least for Steven since the cats were adorable. "Marc liked him as well."

[pocketpretzels]

"George met him too," Watts told Steven. "Together they figured out that Miss Sherman and Detective Murdoch must have just missed each other when they went to school here. Miss Sherman graduated the same summer the Detective first arrived. Funny, that."

[hasaknightjob]

"Small world," Steven said. "Well, small island I suppose. I met a friend of Stark's as well. Chiana. She seemed very nice. That one was just me. Well, Layla and me. Not easy for Marc to take part in it. Though him and Layla did have a moment. Turns out he didn't tell her about going to the Field of Reeds. Plonker."

[pocketpretzels]

"George met Chiana too. He said she was very- forward. But nice, overall. He was mostly thrilled at getting to meet an actual alien."

When it came to Marc's decision to leave out that key bit of information... well, Watts couldn't blame him for that one, actually. In similar circumstances he might well have done the same.

[hasaknightjob]

"Can imagine he was," Steven said. "It is exciting. Works out nice that it was Stark and Chiana, since they're so nice. Won't inspire him to go off writing books about how rude aliens can be or something."

[pocketpretzels]

"Hmm, no," Watts said with a nod. "Though if you ask him about his theories regarding Venusians sometime- apparently they're just waiting for the chance to invade, having ruined their own planet beyond repair."

[hasaknightjob]

"Oh," Steven said. "Well, be fair some aliens did, back home. Don't know if they came from Venus. Or if it's because their planet was ruined. But I suppose aliens can sometimes be awful same as people. But goes to show they can be nice as well, same as people."

[pocketpretzels]

"Takes all sorts, I suppose," Watts agreed.

[hasaknightjob]

It occurred to Steven he might not have been clear before. "Layla did know that we died. She helped save us. If she didn't free Konshu, we couldn't have come back. It was the Field of Reeds part Marc left off."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts nodded. "A significant omission, to be sure." But again, one he could understand. "She wasn't pleased, I take it?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Think she understood it when I told her he came back for me," Steven said. "Though not best pleased with him that he's still keeping secrets. I would've told her myself but I thought she knew."

Which added to the pile of things Steven mistakenly thought Layla knew.