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Post by azikael on Mar 16, 2009 3:10:59 GMT 9
As pretty as Japan had become to Darren, he couldn't handle the fact that a good portion of the caffeine drinks he had gotten his hands on, were exceptionally weak in caffeine. He needed his fix, especially with his deadline to meet, and when he had heard a passing conversation about this cafe, he had gone there the next morning, laptop in hand and a harried expression on his face.
It probably didn't help that Darren stood out like a sore thumb here, which got him looks, which in turn made the shy writer curl up inside and glare. He was at least a head taller then most people here, a good foot over most of the girls. His lanky, pale self, the red tint of sunburn on his cheeks, and the broken, hawk like nose, and the almost worried look on his dark eyes made him stand out. What stood out the most was, when he got to ordering his coffee, the woman behind the counter couldn't understand his accent.
His frown deepened, as he carefully tried to explain that all he wanted, was the strongest, largest coffee she had. He knew his japanese was a bit thick because of the russian accent, but this was not what he needed.
When she repeated something entirely different for the third time, a twitch formed along his brow, and Darren sighed, looking needfully around for some form of help.
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 6:43:10 GMT 9
[Assuming that this is open. And, WELCOME!]
"He said, 'the strongest, largest coffee you have,' Miss." Behind her, stood a tall blond man. Not so much a man, he was still pretty young. He wasn't exactly tall, either, only 5'9". He was still shorter than Darren. He smiled at them both, being polite, blue eyes gazing out from behind thick rimmed glasses. "And, one for me, as well." He himself had an accent, a mix of German and Korean, but it was easier to understand.
The waitress bowed to him and went to fill the order, meanwhile the boy moved closer to the chair across from Darren. His intentions were obvious. He had a notebook in hand, a pen tucked behind his ear. After all, he was a writer, too.
"May I sit?" He was still smiling, this time only at Darren. He didn't seem at all effected by the stares they were getting. Two foreigners was a strange sight.
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 7:31:58 GMT 9
(YA! Thank you ) Darren frowned briefly, turning to stare at the thankfully, not so short man that had translated what he wanted. He was on the verge of either making a smart ass rude comment in return, blushing(which would have been covered by his constantly red cheeks anyway), or just not saying anything. His eternal battle lasted a mere second because his coffee was being made, and the shaking feeling in his veins could stop, and he could get caffeine. Blissful, wonderful, caffeine. He sighed, trying to stop his frown, really he tried, and even tried to put a respectful, small smile on his face. Its a shame his smile was obviously forced, and he couldn't actually keep eye contact with the other. Either he was being horribly rude or..he was shy. The latter was true. The older, russian man was painfully, horribly shy, and the tips of his ears were a bright red because of it.. "Ah..." He wanted to sit with him? What was wrong with this man? He wasn't actually..amusing. Not one bit! But..he couldn't be THAT rude, and he had gotten him his coffee. Not to mention, he hadn't actually come NEAR him, which got him points. "Yes..of course." He tried to talk slowly at least, so his accent didn't ruin to many of his words. "Thank you for saving me." He mumbled, head downward before he looked up slowly. "I guess I'm still not use to people not being able to understand me." Darren's eyes flicked over to the others notebook, and a look of interest took over the mingled one of shyness and a frown. "You write?"
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 8:17:31 GMT 9
"Thank you," The man moved to sit in the seat across from Darren, setting his notebook down on the table top. He situated himself, which included sitting with his legs crossed. He lifted his head after he was through, still smiling at the shy man seated across from him.
He gave a small chuckle when Darren began to speak slowly so he could understand him. "Don't mention it. My brother's Irish, and every time he'd go back home to visit his mother, his accent was terribly difficult to understand. I guess I've just grown accustomed to listening more carefully than most people.
At the mention of his notebook, the blond looked down, as if he'd forgotten that he had it will him. "Ah, well... yes and no. I'm a bit of a new writer, and I don't have a publisher yet. Right now I'm writing articles for magazines."
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 11:39:59 GMT 9
The smiling unerved him, if only because the very few people he was around often, when they smiled it meant bad news for him. His publisher for example, that man needed to have Darren's favorite pencil jammed in his eye regularly. He did his best not to squirm like a child, he was far to old for such silly things. The thing was though, this was one of the first few people who had actually spoken to him. Not a random greeting, or like the coffee girl, his order. But, speaking with him. And sitting NEAR him.
His poor caffeine jolted heart couldn't take much of this.
Darren stared down his broken, hawk nose at the other, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips as the stranger talked about his brother. At the comment of him just riding articles, he waved his hand at him. "Do not brush it off as mere articles." He started, stoping, his smile turning into a frown as the woman brought their drinks. He merely gave her a look, watching her frown and scuttle off in fear of most likely the angry russian foreigner. Taking the cup in his large hands, a blissful, nearly orgasmic look spread over his features as the first drop of caffeine swept over his tongue.
After some time, he spoke again. "My name Is Darren Alexandrei, by the way." He told him quietly. "Science fiction writer, I also write a few articles on the care and keeping of poisonous snakes." See, at that point most people either got interested, or just left because he was even more odd. "All writers start small. As for publishers, never meet mine." He growled. "I only keep that man around because my grammar is horrible and he can fix it. I keep telling myself if he hugs me one more time I will hurt him."
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 11:52:59 GMT 9
The boy seemed to react the same way toward women as Darren did, if not worse. Before, he seemed fine, but he never really looked at the woman. And the second time, his happy expression dropped away in a matter of seconds. He couldn't even bare to glare at her.
He listened to Darren carefully, taking his coffee come in both hands, holding it up to his face to take in its smell. He was just about to take a drink, when Darren mentioned he was a writer. He set his coffee down so fast that some nearly splashed out onto the table. He leaned a bit closer, but he was still mindful of Darren's personal space. He really did pay attention to detail.
"Really? You mean, like... you've got books published, and everything?" the boy looked wistful, sitting back in his chair. "I'd love to publish books. Just one, even, that would be great." He sighed and smiled again, nearly offering Darren his hand before he corrected himself, introducing himself, "My name's Bow Moki, but I write under the name 'Valentine'."
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 12:02:49 GMT 9
An eyebrow carefully arched as the boy nearly destroyed his coffee cup, and ...was that a small laugh? It couldn't be..he probably had something stuck in his throat. That was it. In fact, the way he leaned back into his chair, the latter had to be right. Darren would never laugh at some person he had just meant. Not unless he was laughing AT them..anyway. Which was not the case.
"Yes, I have books published." He told him, the barest hint of amusement in his accented voice. "Quite a few." He was relieved to not be offered the hand. He really was trying to not be rude, but he was jittery enough as it was, and it was bad enough allready that the press of people in the shop was getting on his nerves. So he merely gave the other an actual smile, giving him a faint bow of his head before he spoke again.
"Pleasure to meet you Bow Moki. As for publishing, you look rather young. You have a few years before you can start to worry. " He sipped at his coffee once more, the blissful look sweeping over his features before he calmed himself and spoke again.
"You aren't from here..obviously, and I cant quite place your accent." Curiosity struck.
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 12:28:06 GMT 9
"Ah, well... I regret that I don't know of any." Bow blushed a little, embarrassed. This guy had so many books published and he'd never even heard of him. Science fiction was one of his favorites, too. He picked up his cup again, taking a sip in an attempt to hide the blush on his cheeks. He set it down again, but kept his hands on it for the warmth. "I suppose you're right. Actually... I've recently been worrying if I can get any actual work without a college degree.
Bow smiled again, laughing a bit. "My father's German, and my mother's Korean. It's kind of a mix between the two.
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 12:36:34 GMT 9
He actually shrugged. "That doesn't bother me actually." He told him, giving him a reassuring smile, or what he hoped was one anyway. People either read them or they didn't. It was a lot nicer to meet someone who didn't know them, then some crazy insane fan who wanted to touch him and take pictures and..ugh. He remembered the last fan..the one that had sent him boxers. That was when he had taken down his website.
"I could not publish a good portion of my snake things till I had studied them for a few years." He told him easily. "I will not be held responsible if I give wrong information and someone gets hurt because of it. So I study, and learn from the four I was allowed to bring here with me." He sighed, wishing he could have brought the rest, oh well..
"German?" Well, at least both of them tended to have horrible accents... but russians got off with the big noses, and the glares. He nearly pouted. Nearly.
"Do you normally save silly russian men in coffee shops?" he asked quietly, arching an eyebrow. His eyes kept flicking over to where there were odd little cakes on display. He was sure he hadn't eaten in awhile(In fact, he couldn't remember). But he was also sure, some of those weren't even real. He still wasn't use to japanese food.
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 12:43:31 GMT 9
"You have FOUR snakes?" Bow looked amazed. He was a cat person himself, but he liked reptiles, too. His apartment building didn't allow pets, though. He took another sip of his coffee, watching Darren smile. It was a nice sight. He could tell he didn't do it often.
"Is that a surprise?" Bow laughed again, shifting in his chair. "I spent high school in Korea, so I guess most of my German accent is gone by now..." He followed the man's gaze over to the cakes. Mmh, yummy. "You know... I now coffee shops that are less crowded.."
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 12:49:43 GMT 9
"I had fourteen." He told him quietly, realizing that he sounded like a fanatic, and he didn't really care. "I bred snakes, and took in poisonous ones that people stupidly bought then didn't want once they were no longer cute tiny things." Clearly in his voice, he didn't respect people like that at all. "I couldn't bring that many with me when I moved here though so a friend has the rest." He missed his other snakes. They were his type of 'pet', if they could be told that. They didn't give affection, they respected you as a hunting partner and someone who gave them a place to live. Nothing more.
When he mentioned a less crowded coffee shop, his smile weakened for a moment, and he looked almost worried. He could almost hear his pretty much only friend in his head right then and there. 'You need to talk to more people, and no, because you say you do, telling them to fuck off isn't talking to them'. And his friend had a point. It wouldn't be to..bad to talk shop with someone right?
Right?
And more coffee was always nice.
"Ah..I'm not good company, im warning you now." He told him, looking away for a moment before he spoke again. "But ah..that would be nice."
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 12:56:35 GMT 9
"Wow. fourteen," Oddly enough, Bow didn't find this weird. If not for his building's rules, and the risk of becoming a crazy cat man, he might've had that many cats. "That must've been a little difficult, right? Taking care of so many." Bow's voice was almost dreamy.
"Really? You'll come with me?" He was smiling again. A geninly happy smile, like he'd been offered a hundred bucks. "Okay. We'll finish these and then go, if that's okay with you. They've got good food there, too."
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 13:06:26 GMT 9
"I...didnt-I dont get out often." He muttered. "I had all the time in the world to take care of them." Which was truthful. He could count the few times he willingly went out during a day on one hand. And most of those times were for some form of a caffeine boost. Be it energy drink, coffee, or just anything that would make the jittering stop.
He didn't understand the younger mans smile, and he was obviously uncomfortable by it, merely because..why would someone be so happy about going out with him? Maybe this young man just...just didn't get out often either, or he just liked coffee to, but prefered his with conversation. It obviously wasn't because Darren himself was interesting.
"Ah...yes, we can finish these. And..food would be good, I dont think ive eaten in awhile." That was an odd way to put it, but by now his blood was caffeinated, and the insomniac filled nights made it very very hard for him to get sleep, which in turn made it even harder for him to remember certain things. Like eating..
"As long as you help me order though. I'm still not use to some of the food here. Most of it is ...most of it seems like its all color, and big words then actual food."
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Post by Doomy Muffins on Mar 17, 2009 13:18:20 GMT 9
"Ah, see... that's the thing." Bow still smiled, but this time it was like he had a secret. Before he told him what it was, he took another drink, making Darren wait. He grinned against his cup. Playing little games like this was fun. Even if the other person didn't play along. "I just moved here myself. Haven't been here but three weeks."
"Honestly, I just graduated highschool."
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Post by azikael on Mar 17, 2009 13:31:47 GMT 9
He didn't like things being drawn out, but at least the youngster didn't tell him to wait. That was the quickest way to make the older man hate someone, and he merely stared at him, his brows furrowed in thought as he waited. He took a sip of his own coffee, finishing it off rather quickly to fix the need for it. Addictions were bad all and all, but he could have been addicted to much worse things. Or so he kept telling himself.
When he finally got his answer, he sighed,shaking his head in mild amusement. "Thats both distressing and amusing. "he told him mildly. "I suppose then... "This was a big leap, even for him. But he shook his head soon over, brushing a hand through his short, scruffy raven black hair.
"nevermind, that was a rather..over stepping my boundaries of a stranger type comment I was about to make." He muttered, glaring. More at himself then the other though, and he dropped his head once more to sip at what was left of his caffeine before he got up to toss the cup out. He came back, perching on his chair.
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