come along, boys Who: Lucas and Percy What: Beer, science, and lots of banter. Just what it says on the tin! Where: Citizen Science + Suds, at the Angel City Brewery in L.A. When: (Backdated to) April 13th, 6 p.m.-ish
Naturally, Percy had arrived to the brewery a solid fifteen minutes early. There was a nice arrangement of food trucks outside of the main building, and an open bar with plenty of choices--not to mention an attractive bartender whose dimples were well worth tipping extra to see. The important discussion of the night had to do with civic science something or another, and generally making the world a better place. He’d spent most of the last ten minutes gleaming details of the night from said aforementioned bartender, the woman earning several more dollars than necessary for a simple house beer.
Really, the discussion that Percy was most looking forward to was the one between him and Lucas. He glanced at his watch for likely the fifth time, feeling oddly impatient to see his friend. It wasn’t as if they didn’t live in the same apartment building, but they certainly did seem to miss each other’s schedules quite frequently. Percy could hardly hold Lucas to blame; it wasn’t him who regularly focused on saving people’s lives, now, was it?
He’d much rather expose their dirty secrets to the world instead, for all of Southern California to read.
Tossing the wrapper from a food truck taco into a waiting trash can, Percy meandered around the front lot through the growing throng of people, eyes peeled for Lucas. It’d been a few years since they’d last seen one another, but certainly the other man couldn’t have changed that much.
Lucas had just come up behind Percy when the other man tossed out his wrapper, and he stood behind him. “You know food trucks are a great way to get food poisoning if you're not careful,” he said to his friend’s back. He grinned, waiting for him to turn around and spot him, shrugging and holding up his half-eaten and fully loaded chili dog in one hand and a beer in the other.
A familiar voice sounded from behind him, and Percy whirled around, careful to not spill his beer bottle. His eyes lit up with delight, and his smile was broad and welcoming. “If I do get sick, I'll have you around to help me. But if you fall ill, what'll become of us?” Happy to see his old friend, Percy had to resist pulling him into an embrace, given the overloaded chili dog that Lucas currently wielded. Instead, he raised his bottle in a motion of good cheer, tipping it slightly towards the other man. “Lucas, you're a sight for sore eyes. They actually let you leave the suffering early? And,” Percy glanced over at his watch. “You're on time to boot. This is my lucky day--how’ve you been doing?” Talking a mile a minute, it was difficult to contain the gladness that he felt.
Lucas laughed and tapped his beer to Percy’s bottle. “Woah, slow down there, tiger,” he joked, “I’m not going anywhere, you can talk at a normal pace.” He closed the few paces between them and clapped his arm holding the beer around Percy’s shoulders. “I’m good, man, how’re you? I haven’t seen you in...damn, how long has it been?” He let Percy go and took a swig of his beer.
“At least ten years, but likely more,” Percy replied with an affected tone of utmost severity. High school had become a blip in his radar at this point, though this didn’t by any means diminish his fondness of the memories he and Lucas had made together. Even if Lucas had often chided Percy for his antics.
“You know they don’t keep me chained to the hospital,” he grinned, “I do get a night off now and then.” Granted, his hours were all over the map, but fortunately it had worked out that he was free tonight. “What about you, are you here purely for fun, or are you getting a story?”
“Cheers to that, I wondered if you’d be able to make it,” Percy admitted, mirroring Lucas by taking a drink of his own beer. “And for once, Luc, I’m not working. Not tonight. This is just for fun.” He gestured to the milling crowd around them, the enticing smells from the food trucks filling the air, and the laughter of good company on a nice spring evening. Lucas grinned and made a sound that clearly said he didn’t quite believe him. “To tell you the truth, I’m not at all interested in the science talk,” Percy said with a conspiratorial wink. “No offense, Doctor, but you might end up liking the panel more than me.”
“So you’re just here for the beer then, yeah?” Lucas asked with a grin, already knowing the answer. He took another swig from his bottle and then a healthy bite of his chilli dog.
“Say,” Percy added, casually disregarding Lucas’ question to scan over the crowd for a moment. “Are you feeling cozy in your penthouse? Maybe I’ll get over my fear of heights and make it up to the tenth floor at some point.”
“Yeah, man, you should definitely come crash the party up there,” Lucas said once he’d swallowed his mouthful. “I’ve been waiting for you to drop by with some beers but one of us is always busy. Jeeze, you’d think you had a job or something,” he laughed. “Seriously man, my place is still full of boxes. You can come over, but don’t judge.”
“Who am I to judge a bunch of boxes? Unless you’re keeping something suspicious in them, of course.” Percy thought back to the mysterious--perhaps suspicious--gifts which seemed to be making their rounds in the apartment building. Surely Lucas had received something as well.
“Which, if you are hiding something in your boxes and you haven’t told me, I am absolutely wounded. But I’ll get to the bottom of it when I come over. Either way, I’ll make it my mission to help you finish unpacking.”
Lucas grinned and then tried for a straight face. “okay, but be careful, some of them have body parts in them. I like to take my work home with me.” He wasn't exactly joking either, he had plastic anatomy dummies in some of those boxes. Now he couldn't wait for Percy to ‘accidentally’ find them.
Percy grinned, and nodded towards the open bar--the shapely bartender was cheerfully serving drinks to the populace. He looked pointedly at his friend, an impish glint to his eye. “Speaking of unpacking baggage, are you seeing anyone yet, Luc? Let me tell you, that lady over there is one hundred percent ready to get off from her shift and relax elsewhere than here. You ought to ask for her number before the show starts.” He shrugged, downing a swig of his beer. “I know it’s the truth, because I happened to get her word for it.”
Lucas laughed, but couldn't help but check out the lady in question. “Nahh,” he said, shaking his head dismissively after a minute of watching her. “I prefer my women to not be made of silicone,” he said, glancing at Percy with a grin that said ‘I dare you to find out for sure’. He didn't know exactly how he knew, but he was positive that girl had had extensive work done. But then, this was LA, he imagined a fair percentage of the population had.
His brows raised a considerable amount, and he took another look at the bartender from across the way, genuinely wondering if it was true. To Percy’s knowledge (albeit limited) she had seemed to be primarily composed of the typical human ingredients; perhaps she was slightly above average where it counted. He certainly hadn’t complained during their brief smalltalk episode.
However, a lot of the things Lucas said ended up being true, in some form or fashion. It usually had worked out in such a way when they were younger. Lucas had always been, Percy thought, ridiculously intuitive. Sometimes, this talent of Lucas’ had put a damper on otherwise enjoyable shenanigans; otherwise, it could be undoubtedly helpful. “Don’t take the fun out of it, Lucas,” Percy nonetheless chided his friend in good humor. “She’ll overhear, and you might hurt her feelings. But don’t let me stop you from avoiding commitment,” he added with a laugh, well aware he was the last person to lecture on engagements that didn’t involve his job.
“I’ll save playing Cupid for another day. How’re you liking your new set-up at the hospital?” Before the evening was finished, Percy would find a way to ensure Lucas accepted the bartender’s jotted down phone number on a folded bar receipt--he currently kept it safe within his pocket. Likewise, Percy would have to grab another beer as well, given that a disappointing light shake of his bottle revealed that it was nearly empty.
Lucas swallowed the last bite of his chili dog, wiping his hands on the napkin and tossing it in the nearby trash. “Ohh it’s great, you know,” he said with a nod. “They asked for me, you know? I was doing fine up north, but then I get this job offer from a hospital in LA asking me to head up a whole department. It’s...a lot, but it’s pretty cool. I have staff man! Can you believe it? People fuckin’ listen to me.” He chuckled and took a swig of beer, noting that it was almost empty and gesturing with it to one of the nearby beer tents so they could get another.
“What about you? Are you cracking all the good stories and writing all the gossip?”
He nodded while his friend spoke, finishing the last of his beer and disposing the bottle in the same trash can. “Hey, you’re doing all right for yourself, man. Accept the power, but don’t forget there’s something about ‘great responsibility’ that comes along with it,” Percy said with a chuckle, and Lucas smirked at him in response. He walked with Lucas to the closest beer tent for replacements, talking with him as they strolled through the ever-growing throng of people.
“Would you guess that I have competition for good stories right in Pax? Believe me, I don’t approve, but I’m getting better stories than the other editorial writer in the building. It’s not so bad, there’s a plethora of criminals in California. Their stories are ripe for the plucking, and Luc, I’ve been profiting off the fruits of their labor like you wouldn’t believe. There’s just something about a well-executed bribery. Or a simple money grab, although today it’s money laundering that’s big in Silicon Valley.” Percy gave Lucas a knowing look when they arrived at the beer tent. “You’ll tell me if anything goes missing at your new hospital, right?”
“Absolutely,” Lucas replied, reaching for a beer and handing over payment, “just keep my name out of it, I have a reputation of a respected member of the medical community to maintain,” he said, thanking the server at the beer tent and taking a drink of his new bottle. “You know, someone stole my pen the other day, that might be worth following up on,” he joked, pointing his bottle at Percy as if he was giving him a good tip. “And this nurse I’ve worked with a few times...I’m almost positive his name is Robert, but he goes by Bob...maybe he’s trying to hide his true identity.”
Selecting a beer, he gave the teller several dollars while listening to Lucas’ proper gentleman spiel. This would likely not be the last time, either. Percy barely suppressed a grin, nodding along while Lucas talked. It was the Bob comment which did him in, causing him to break into laughter, and Lucas laughed along with him. “You don't say?” he finally managed, as they moved away from the beer tent. “I haven't investigated a pen thief before, or a case of mistaken identity.” Speaking of thievery brought his mind back to the odd assortment of gifts which had been delivered throughout the apartment complex.
“Did you get anything strange on your doorstep lately?” He took a swig of his beer, cold and refreshing on a warm spring night. “I might have gotten someone's old lockpick.”
Lucas nodded, “I did, as a matter of fact,” he said. “Some kind soul gave me a new set of guitar strings, which was quite opportune, as I only just then noticed that one of mine had been damaged during the move.” He took another swig of beer and smiled. “It’s almost as if someone knew I’d need new ones, or that someone just wants me to start playing again. It’s been a while, and I haven’t really had a chance to take it up again in a year or so. Maybe I should give it a go,” he added with a non-committal shrug. He missed it, but he’d found other things to fill his time. At the moment most of his time was filled with work and getting his apartment set up just right, and also his somewhat cautious pursuit of one Alice Kennedy…
“Now that's fortuitous,” Percy said appreciatively. “It's almost an omen--start playing guitar again, and you can get around to wooing someone or another.” Pleased with his own assessment of Lucas’ situation, he grinned at the thought of his friend crooning and swaying below an open, moonlit window. “You'll be right out of Hollywood. Me on the other hand, I ended up breaking into this kid's apartment downstairs. He locked himself out, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Funny how that worked out.” Percy realized he'd grown more serious as he related the tale, the number of coincidences slowly adding up the longer he lived at Pax. Not that he'd been able to fully connect the dots, but they were nonetheless common.
That was probably a conversation for another time, however. Percy glanced at his watch, ascertaining they wouldn't be late for the show.
Lucas’s eyebrows rose and he glanced over at his friend. “Almost as if someone knew you’d need to get into that kid’s apartment,” he said with a mysterious air. “Just be sure to only use your new powers for good, not for evil,” he added with a grin. “Breaking into some girl’s apartment isn’t exactly looked on as a favourable first date and may, in fact, result in a restraining order.” He didn’t honestly believe his friend would do anything like that, but the idea that Percy had somehow inherited tools specifically to pick locks brought up memories of the guy’s gleeful exploits when they were kids.
“I’d never suggest something so crass, Luc,” he scoffed, pretending to be offended. “I only knock politely on doors, and if someone answers, well--who am I to ignore an invitation?” Percy shrugged, barely hiding his own amusement. “‘With great power comes great responsibility,’” he quipped. “If you're not careful, you're going to foresee an awfully bad future.” He took a drink of his new beer, condensation forming on the bottle. “And besides, the kid was pretty happy he didn't need to pay an actual locksmith. I did a good deed. It's not saving lives, but it's good nonetheless.” And it had been ridiculously convenient, a detail he didn't feel the need to reiterate.
Lucas was laughing at his friend’s Spiderman reference, but then paused and looked at him at the next comment. About foreseeing the future. For some reason, those words nagged at him, prodding something in the back of his mind, as if they rang far truer than both of them knew. As if Percy had just hit on a secret that he didn’t even know he had.
Then he shook his head, clearing the thought from it, and focused on the next quip. “To good deeds!” he said, raising his beer to toast against Percy’s, taking a sip and then looking around them. “So where are we supposed to go for this thing you roped me into?” he asked playfully, doing his best to push aside his earlier weird feeling.
He just managed to catch the pensive look on Lucas’ face before it vanished as suddenly as it had arrived. Percy made a mental note, likely in better handwriting than Lucas’ doctor scribbles, to inquire about it later. Like with the stranger coincidences, it didn't feel appropriate to bring more serious matters up when they were supposed to be having a good time.
“The main building over there,” he nodded towards the actual brewery, pointing to the path they'd have to take through the crowd. People were already flooding into the place, likely hoping to snatch the best seats. “We might as well head that way before we're stuck with seats in the back row. Knowing your luck, you'll be trapped behind someone over seven feet tall.” With a friendly wink, Percy motioned towards the crowd near them, people happily testing local brews and eating overpriced food truck vittles. “Come on, let's go.”
Lucas nodded and followed his friend towards the crowd, laughing at the cheap shot at his expense.
They made it to their seats with five minutes to spare. Thankfully, they managed to find spots where neither of their views were obstructed; as expected, Lucas enjoyed the program more than Percy, but it certainly would nonetheless make for good conversation afterwards. Science, saving the world, and beer--what could possibly be better?