Michael Guerin is a (miserableliar) wrote in pathways_log, @ 2021-04-12 13:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | roswell nm: michael guerin, scarlet pimpernel: marguerite blakeney |
Who: Michael and Marguerite
What: Late night take out encounter
When: Tonight!
Where: Chinese restaurant
Ratings/Warnings: Low - some language
Status: Complete!
Michael was lost in his project. He was so close to figuring out a concrete that would actually be good for the environment, leaving no carbon footprint. When he was close to figuring something out like this he had a tendency to forget to eat or sleep. Before he knew it, it was eleven pm. If it wasn’t for the continuous growling of his stomach he probably would have worked through the night. He got to a place he could stop for the night and reluctantly left the lab.
Michael placed a call to one of his favorite chinese restaurants ordering himself way too much food on his way out. Luckily places stayed open pretty late in Vegas. Even though he had called on his way out of the lab, he had driven there before his order was ready so all there was to do was stand and wait.
There was a certain balance Marguerite had to maintain when she was in a show. There were of course rehearsals and preparing for opening, but she was still dancing at Diamond as well, which meant that she had a lot less time to make her own food. Which meant that she was going to end up at different take out places more often than she might otherwise. Especially as rehearsals were going later thanks to opening seemingly right around the corner.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. It was good to support smaller shops. Plus between the schedule, and Las Vegas in general, really what was time?
Which was how she found herself at the Chinese restaurant and waiting for her order at 11 at night. And in a city that never seemed to stop, it wasn’t shocking that she found herself standing next to someone instead of alone as one might think would be the case that late.
Michael glanced over at the person standing next to him, also waiting for food. She looked… familiar. It took a second for him to place her, given how made up she had been the last time he had seen her. And before that she had been a child.
“Marguerite?” he questioned just to be sure.
While it wasn’t entirely unheard of for to be recognized, for the most part, Marguerite was usually able to go about her day as if it were any other day. So hearing her name while standing in line for take out and by a voice she wasn’t entirely familiar with? Well, that momentarily caught her off guard as she looked up.
And that was when she realized that it was Michael and thus felt herself relax.
“Michael. Fancy running into you here. Hi.”
Smiling some, the actress brushed her hair out of her face.
Well at least she recognized him this time. That was something at least. Granted he also wasn’t some guy approaching a burlesque dancer either.
“Yeah,” Michael agreed with a small nod. “It’s been what? Over ten years? And then twice in as many months?” At least he was pretty sure it was within two months. He couldn’t exactly remember when the bachelor party had been, but it felt somewhat recent.
It was also easier to recognize a person when the light wasn’t awful and there weren’t so many people or distractions as there had been at the club. Plus the fact it was only a few months instead of years. Vegas wasn’t exactly small and with the amount of people, it wasn’t all that unheard of to lose track of people. Especially within the foster system as kids were shuffled around to find a home and place to stay. The fact their paths had crossed at all after so long was a shock.
“Something like that, yeah.”
“You been in Vegas this whole time?” MIchael asked while they both waited for their food. He had lost track of pretty much everyone he knew from his childhood. Foster siblings and the dozens of people that dared to talk to him in school. He preferred to keep all that in the past. Especially right after leaving the system. Now though, a decade later, it was nice to run into someone again.
“The whole time. Never got an opening to leave and since Armand is still here…” Well, Marguerite was devoted to her brother and would always be there for him. It was why she hadn’t left. It was why she had put up with all she had - all to ensure he had as stable a life as possible. “How about you? Did you ever get to leave or have you been here all the time?”
Michael understood that logic. Not that he had any real siblings of his own, but the whole reason he came back was on the off chance his parents returned for him one day. Whoever they were. “Just for college,” he shrugged. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the need to stay close to where he was found he probably would have stayed gone. “How is Armand?”
“Hey, it still got you out so I’d say it’s more than ‘just’ college.” She certainly had never done well enough to go to college, at least to get a scholarship and get out without owing St. Cyr even more. Still, there were things that would tie a person somewhere if it were so aligned. For Marguerite, it was Armand and a need to ensure his stability and provide for him if she could. “He’s doing really well. College himself which he seems to have found himself in which I can’t say I’m surprised by. He’s always been far more academically inclined than I ever was.”
“True,” Michael agreed. He had gotten out for a period of time. Even if he had come back. “Good for him,” Michael added. It was nice to hear that former foster siblings were doing well, that the system hadn’t totally fucked them up. “You seem to be doing well enough for yourself though.” There was nothing wrong with being a burlesque dancer after all. It seemed like more of a performance to Michael than anything. He didn’t think just anyone could do that.
“Yeah.” Smiling some, Marguerite folded her hair behind her ear at the comment about Armand. And while the foster system had definitely fucked her up, it wasn’t exactly something she talked about. Especially when Armand was still relying on St. Cyr, a name that already made her tremble in rage yet even more so the past couple of months. “I get to perform, so I can’t complain too much.”
Because he was right. Burlesque was just another type of performance. And at least she had more say in it now than she had when she was still under St. Cyr’s control. So that was something. Plus it wasn’t just burlesque at the moment which was always a good thing as well.
“And that’s what’s important,” Michael replied giving her a small smile. “Well as long as you enjoy it.” But it sure seemed like she had, back when he saw her perform. Granted he only knew about the burlesque but even from that he could still tell she enjoyed performing.
“Exactly. Once you’re not enjoying it, then it’s time to reconsider. For a lot of things I would imagine.” After all, it wasn’t as if Marguerite had too much understanding of different jobs and the like. Burlesque had just been a way to mold her performing with all she’d known thanks to St. Cyr. “After all, if we spend so much of our lives working, we might as well do our best to ensure it isn’t mind numbingly tedious or miserable.”
“If we’re lucky enough to have that choice,” Michael couldn’t help but add. If he hadn’t gotten a scholarship he never would have been able to go to college and pursue the career he had now. It was weird to think what his life could have been if he never went to college. Which he was actually thinking a hell of a lot about lately, hell he even felt like it was something he had lived at times.
“Mm, indeed. If we’re lucky enough.” Because Marguerite knew that was rarely the case. Oh, she still believed that people should be able to get out and find something that isn’t tedious and drains them, but reality could and usually was much different. The way the strange memories worked though….so much was familiar except she was in the wrong century. It was strange and well...she still believed in only having one life so live it, so that was what she was focusing on and trying to do. Live the one life she actually had.
Just then Michael’s name was called. He went to grab his bags of take out. He had ordered way too much for one person but that was the point. He’d have left overs for a few days. Hell he could even bring some in to work for lunch tomorrow. “It was good seeing you again,” Michael said with a small smile. “I’m working at Stark Industries,” he added as a last minute thought. “If you ever want to grab lunch or something. Catch up for real.”
Hearing Michael’s name called, Marguerite smiled some and nodded, “It was.” She wasn’t going to question how she suddenly was running into someone from one of the first foster homes she’d been in more consistently the past few months. Life had a strange way of working out and so it wasn’t really all that pressing of a matter. The last minute comment did catch her off guard momentarily. Though she supposed at least it was Stark and not Xanatos. “I’d like that.”
“Great,” Michael replied, a grin spread across his face. “I’m there basically all the time.” On weekdays at least. Weekends were reserved for drinking and hookups… and some weeknights too. But he was basically always there around lunch time. “Stop by any time. I’m in the engineering department. I’ll give security your name.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.” True her current schedule was a bit more hectic than it might otherwise be, but it was easy enough to get away for lunch. And there was her name being called as well. “Have a good rest of your day.” True, it was almost over being after eleven pm by that point. But that was irrelevant.
“You too,” Michael replied before heading out of the restaurant. He had no idea if Marguerite would actually take him up on the offer, but he hoped she did. As much as he hated to admit it, hell would probably outright deny it, he was longing for familial connections.