InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "a new bell for your bycicle?"

Matthew Quincy (yournewq) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2013-06-02 01:02:00

Entry tags:

!complete, john constantine, q

Who: John Constantine and Q
When: 6/2
Where: A pub
What: Meeting up for drinks
Rating/Warnings: NC-17 for sex
Status: Complete

God, but it feels amazing to get out of the house for once. Hopefully tonight no one from work will track him down for any reason, but it's been known to happen on his rare nights off.

At least John seems quite different from people at work, which is a refreshing change. And it'll be nice to spend some time from someone from the motherland who isn't also in his office. So Q settles at the bar and orders himself a beer while he waits for his new friend to arrive. Or new hopefully friend, really.

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-02 05:34 pm UTC (link)

It's amusing to watch Q push his hair out of his face, and then have it go straight back to where it started. A vicious circle of futile efforts that must not really have been as much of a bother as he pretended it was, or else certainly he'd just cut it. John decides, with another drink of his beer (it's a bit too hoppy, he'd made the wrong choice, but doesn't stop drinking anyway), that possibly Q isn't as innocent as he makes himself out to be. He's clearly an intelligent bloke, after all. It's interesting.

"Course you are," he says, and it comes out cheekily. John has never lacked confidence, after all.

But John is a lot of things, and a creep really isn't one of them. If he was looking for just an easy hook up, and not a friend, he probably wouldn't have gotten lost on a foreign bus system just to get here. So he backs it up a little, just to keep things fun. "So what makes this place any better than the rest of the lot?" The bar, in question.

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yournewq
2013-06-02 11:41 pm UTC (link)

"Honestly? I don't drive, and it's close enough to my flat to walk. Makes it a bit easier to stumble home afterwards than the have to work the bus system or attempt to order a cab after a drink or two."

Q could use more friends. Well, he could probably use an easy hook up as well, but aside from Alice or Audrey or Merlin, he doesn't really have anyone he's friendly with. And all of them are quite nice, of course, but who couldn't use more friends? And John is new to California, so he's doing a good deed, as well.

"American beer, like American tea, isn't quite the same as back in England. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers, can we?"

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 12:02 am UTC (link)

"I don't drive either. Might have to learn - suck it up and get the L. Seems hard to get around here otherwise." He does not approve of this, as he's avoided learning for thirty five years now, but he can't even begin to fathom the time wasting that the buses offered here. How, possibly, did anyone get anything done?

"Strewth," before going on, he winks at the younger man, because so rarely does he get recognition for a word he's been using frequently since youth. "But we can whinge all we like. Honest? More of a coffee bloke. I'm a terrible Brit, I know."

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yournewq
2013-06-03 01:09 am UTC (link)

"Some teas have more caffeine than coffee, which is why I prefer them. I'm utterly addicted to caffeine, it's dreadful. But better than some other addictions, I suppose.

Not that there's anything wrong with coffee, of course. Though the coffee the machines at work produce is more of a distant cousin than the actual product. I have heard rumours of an espresso machine, but they have yet to be verified. I'll keep you informed." He flashes John a smile and decides yes, a second beer would be fine.

"Would you like another?"

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 01:31 am UTC (link)

"Dreadful," John repeats, and it doesn't come out nearly as posh, probably purposely. He's amused by Q, who's very addiction to caffeine seems to have made him go a bit hyper, a bit more talkative, as if just thinking on it is a rush enough. It's hard to imagine the man after a day's work - keyed-up and letting words tumble out with no stop in sight.

"Never say no to another. Don't suppose they've got import?" A pause, and John is chewing on his own bottom lip and looking around again. "Speaking of poor addictions, pause for a fag? Bloody laws in these parts, can probably get away with murder before smoking indoors."

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	yournewq 2013-06-03 01:43 am UTC (link)
	"Oh I know, I say 'dreadful' far more than I should. It does nothing for my reputation." He smiling, though, amused at his own poshness. "We'll see what else they have when we get back. I might join you, if you don't mind? I don't smoke often, but when someone brings it up it's hard to avoid it, I've found. At least it is for me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 01:57 am UTC (link)

John gives a bit of a scoff, as if reputations are one thing he could honestly care less about. And isn't that just the truth? It's not as if he actually thinks Q has ruined it for everyone on the romantic British level. He'll blame the Americans for that all on their own.

"It's a social sort of sport, innit? Always more fun with a few players." Because let's be honest here, smoking was probably about as sporty as John got these days. He was already fishing his pack out from the pocket of his slacks, shiny zippo in tow.

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	yournewq 2013-06-03 02:02 am UTC (link)
	"I'll grab your next drink if I can bum a fag off you. My emergency pack is in my desk drawer at home, I'm afraid." He usually just smokes when he's stressed, and now and again after sex, but if John's smoking, he might as well. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 02:13 am UTC (link)

John, on the other hand, smokes like it's going out of style. If the world were ending, he wouldn't even be polite enough to bum you one, because he'd need all he could get for himself, wouldn't he?

Luckily, the world isn't ending. Not today. And so he hands one over easy -- this is like a gift on it's own - it's the last of his pack from back home. He can't get SilkCut, not here, and soon he's going to have to find a new brand to favor.

He holds the door open for Q with his foot, and has his smoke lit before he's even really outside. He keeps the zippo open to light the other mans' too. "How good is an emergency pack when you haven't got it around during emergencies?" The urge to mess Q's hair is weird but rising; for the moment he resists.

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yournewq
2013-06-03 04:07 am UTC (link)

"Bless you," Q grins with a wink to show he's teasing, and leans against the wall with his cigarette. "Right now isn't an emergency, it's an indulgence. An emergency would be three in the morning when I'm tearing my hair out and can't think of how to write the next line of code until I have some nicotine in my system. Thus the cigarettes at my desk."

He exhales a slow stream of smoke into the night air, feeling really quite peaceful. "This is nice, isn't it? I haven't anyone to smoke with. I think California is a bit more health conscious than England is. Lots of people who exercise and watch what they eat."

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 04:23 am UTC (link)

John is keen on indulgence to the point of hedonistic, but sometimes he's sure being out smokes is a bit an emergency.

"Right. Bless" he agrees in amusement after a long inhale. He smokes expertly - makes the habit look like something as natural as breathing, like he's just meant to be doing it. Leaning against the wall, too, John isn't so nice as to give Q quite enough personal space. He's interested enough, and doesn't feel he should let the other man forget that completely.

"Been told this was a liberal sort of state, and yet seem to be lacking all the personal freedom I'm used to on some things. Got the dirtiest look after lighting up at the airport. Can you believe that? Who doesn't want a fag first thing after a plane ride?"

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yournewq
2013-06-03 04:53 am UTC (link)

Christ, Q doesn't always find smoking attractive, given he shares the habit, but John makes it look good. It's a bit unfair, really. Q thinks he looks a bit silly himself, when he smokes. Like a schoolboy sneaking a fag between classes in the boy's room, all tousled hair and red lips.

"I don't think any airport would take kindly to that, given how strict rules are these days." He shrugs a shoulder and takes another long drag of his -- well John's cigarette. "I fly exactly once a year, that's about all I can stand."

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 05:15 am UTC (link)

"Didn't light up on the plane, some credit is deserved there." Because sometimes he really wanted to see what dismantling the smoke detector in the plane bathroom would really do. What's the worst that could happen? Not like they'd throw him off the plane.

He tilts his head to the side, watching Q smoke for a moment, but not at all ignoring his own cigarette. California makes him feel like this is some sort of precious commodity of time. Do it while you can, John. Because soon someone will stop you, and you'll be forced to gnaw and chew at your bottom lip like some sort of junkie.

"The flying, or the visiting?" Why else would someone do it once a year, if not for visiting purposes?

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	yournewq 2013-06-03 05:28 am UTC (link)
	"The flying. I don't mind visiting my dad and all, it's the least I can do. But Christ I hate flying. I white knuckle it all the way there, it's dreadful." Then he laughs at himself and shakes his head, "No, not dreadful. I promised my friend I'd avoid saying dreadful from now on. It's nasty, though." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 05:40 am UTC (link)

That makes John laugh - not only is it cute, it's hard not to appreciate someone with a decent sense of humor as far as self-deprecation goes. Q is funny - slightly ornery but entirely too posh a Brit to ever sound anything more than mildly upset. John's used to that sort of folk, but it doesn't make it any less charming.

"No, no. You should keep saying it. Why would your friend want you to stop? It's bloody adorable." Oh, there was his wolfish grin again. Hello.

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yournewq
2013-06-03 05:57 am UTC (link)

"Sometimes I'd like to be something other than adorable," Q shrugs and finishes off his cigarette, crushing it under his toe.

Though if being adorable puts him on the receiving end of that fantastically devious grin, perhaps he wouldn't mind it so much. "Were you right in your predictions about me? The handsome sort of pretty, I mean. Or am I, as has been suggested in the past, an elfin little slip of a thing."

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 06:13 am UTC (link)

Flicking his cigarette out into the direction of the sidewalk, John has to resist the urge to light another immediately. Instead, he cocks his head to the side, looking Q up and down, as if truly appraising him.

"Don't see why you can't be a bit of each," he says after a moment. It's true, though. Q is both handsome and pretty at the same time, and is thin enough to warrant the other bit, too. "But if it's a chore to think yourself elfin, you might just try lithe instead?" He's teasing now, breaking out the finer vocabulary just to impress slightly.

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	yournewq 2013-06-03 06:57 am UTC (link)
	"Lithe, I like it. Perhaps I'll just hire you to describe me. You'll be my Shakespeare." And John is quite handsome, in a scruffy, rough around the edges sort of way. Q quite likes rough around the edges, if he's honest with himself. "Should we go back in? I believe I promised to pick up this round." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 07:05 am UTC (link)

Sure, John's a bit rough. He isn't one of those shave every day sorts, anyway. He likes to think he's gotten a little less rough as the years have gone by, though. While his speech habits might never be a posh delight like Q's are, he's at least devised a plan to wear a shirt with a loosened tie most days. Certainly that's a step up from Sex Pistols and The Clash t-shirts with cropped off sleeves he'd been so fond of when younger.

"I'll take it," John's smile is slightly lopsided, like he wants to laugh, but is holding it back. "Words and synonyms for one Velveteen Hamlet." He nods then, his nose motioning toward the door. Never did he turn down a round that he wasn't paying for.

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yournewq
2013-06-03 07:23 am UTC (link)

Better than the cardigans Q tends to wear day in and day out, really. At least tonight he'd opted for a waistcoat instead of a sweatervest, wanting to make a good impression on John. No tie, though, the top two buttons of his shirt carefully unbuttoned. God he's such a teenager, isn't he?

And then John surprises him into a laugh. "Velveteen -- " He ducks his head with a giggle, glancing sideways at John as he settles back at the bar. "Oh, I may have to keep you."

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 07:33 am UTC (link)

The waistcoat had been duly noted and appreciated -- John wasn't the most upbeat of blokes, but he could certainly appreciate nice things when he saw them.

John gives another laugh of his own as he slips back into his seat next to Q. He's pleased with himself for making the other man laugh -- he gets the impression that maybe Q doesn't do it quite enough, not real ones anyway. Polite chuckles hardly count. "You'll have to have me first," he says, and it's as full of innuendo and intention as a phrase like that can really get.

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yournewq
2013-06-03 07:59 am UTC (link)

"I may have to do that as well." There. Now it's been said and it's all out in the open, and Q feels a little more at ease. The flirting after it's been decided they'll end up sleeping together at some point is so much more relaxed than the flirting before it's a sure thing. Or at least he feels that way.

"So what do you do for fun? Aside from meet up with strangers you met on the internet."

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 08:08 am UTC (link)

He isn't wrong about that; flirting is fun, and there's something to be said about giving a good chase, but it can be exhausting sometimes. Constant second guessing isn't something anyone really likes.

It is a bit easier after Q's statement of equal intent - that John can't help but chuckle over as well. He squints at the beers that are in little clear doored-fridges behind the counter. They've got to have something not shite back there, he thinks.

"Honestly? Never done this before. I'm not much a computer person." He's had troubles with things as easy as a toaster in the past, and that's really not saying much. It's a wonder he figured his laptop out enough to even manage finding the Net community. "But fun? Well. I'd say I've hobbies in ruining liver and lungs. I'm keen on good music - it's best to see it live whenever possible."

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yournewq
2013-06-03 08:13 am UTC (link)

"I'm enough of a computer person for the both of us, no worries there. I spend most of my free time on my computer, which is tragic, really. Or cannibalizing things from Radio Shack to make newer and better things. Now and then my friends force me to be social, and we go over to this fantastic bakery that makes a very nearly English cup of tea. Damn good coffee as well, for those who don't drink tea."

Q notices the direction of John's stare and quirks an eyebrow, "See anything worth trying?"

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rhymeswithfine
2013-06-03 08:21 am UTC (link)

"Everyone needs a talent," John points out, and isn't surprised in the least that Q's involves being stuck indoors all day. "Think I was born just a bit too early to really have had a chance with the things." He's lamenting, but not really at the same time. "Bakeries tend to make everything in life a bit more brilliant, yeah? And -- no. Maybe?" He squints some more, and then just shrugs. "I've have a surprise import. That way it's no one's fault if it's shite, and everyone's delighted if it's not."