Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf (_badwolf_) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-02-27 16:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, peter hale, rose tyler |
Who: Peter & Rose
What: Dinner and drinks
When: Late Jan
Where: Muldoon’s Pub
Rating: Low
Status: Complete upon posting
When she had last left Peter, Rose had wanted to make sure to keep in touch with him, make sure that everything was alright. There was a lot of negativity lately on the network, but just from running into Peter, she felt like his dreams were on a whole new level than anyone else’s. She really didn’t know much about him, but felt like it was her duty to check in on him since she had found him wandering the streets in such a crazed manner. She prayed that he was doing better; he seemed to be alright via the network at least.
She arrived at Muldoon’s a little early, wanting to talk to their waiter. She set it up ahead of time that she would be taking care of the bill, not wanting Peter to have another one up on her. She had been so surprised when he had followed her to the taxi, pushing the money to the cab driver before she could object. It was a sweet gesture, but Rose wanted to make it up to him; it hadn’t been his fault that she had fallen asleep on the bus!
Choosing a table by the window, she ordered the first round of drinks, before opening the menu. She had been there a few other times, but hadn’t had the food before. Her eyes scanned the menu, popping up over the top every now and then to look for Peter.
-
To tell the truth, Peter wasn’t sure why he continued to talk to Rose. She was young enough to be his daughter, though that didn’t bother him. It was the way she seemed somewhat invested in him. If that was the right word or not, he wasn’t sure, but it was the only one he could come up with. A combination of work, pride and, most recently, something akin to insanity prevented him from making any real acquaintances, let alone friends. Yet somehow, the woman he ran into (literally) in the street took a liking to him.
The pub wasn’t difficult to find, considering he knew his way around his town well enough. Pulling up to the place, Peter was surprised he wasn’t at least familiar with the name since it was in a relatively nice spot for customer flow. He worked with enough people young enough to still go out to bars and places like this all night and never had he heard of this place.
Inside, it wasn’t particularly packed, but there were a decent amount of people milling around. The majority were half his age, while he could pick out the couple of men that were his age crowded around the bar itself, leaning over the counters and staring into their drinks like they and answers to the problems in their sorry lives. Even though the lighting was slightly dim, Peter could still see very well and that he knew was due to one of the physical changes as a result of the dreams. All of his senses were improved, well past the point of every person in this room, and with few exceptions, almost everyone in general. It had been overwhelming at first, but over the course of months with nothing to do but practice control over them, he was able to lessen the impact of everything hitting him at once.
Scanning the room, Peter caught sight of someone half obscured by a menu and waited just long enough for her to peek over the top of it to confirm that it was Rose. Peter walked towards where she was seated, vaguely aware of the dull beating of hearts under the veil of his control as he moved past groups of people.
“You’re here early,” he commented with a sly smile as he sat across from her.
-
Rose beamed up at him as he made his way over to the table. She raised her hand, waving in greeting, as if he couldn’t see her already. She gave a confident shrug, grinning at him over her menu. “I wanted to make sure we had the best seat in the house! That and I told you it tend to get a little busy. I wanted to make sure we could get a table instead of sitting at the bar. I’ve tried that before here and it’s not so classy.” She gave him a soft kick under the table. “I’m glad you came out tonight though!” She passed him a menu for him to scan through.
“Hopefully you’ll be able to find something good on here. I’m particular to their fish and chips, but I don’t think there’s been a place I haven’t liked their chips!” If there was one thing Rose was a sucker for, it was chips.
Finding that Peter was settled, she glanced back down at her own menu, trying to decide what it was that she really wanted. Fish and chips? She had recommended them. But the Shepherd’s Pie was good too...but that didn’t come with chips. She frowned, her eyebrows working as she tried to pick and choose from the items on the menu.
-
“Well it looks like you got it,” he replied with an easy smile. It was still a surprise how easily he could switch between emotions now, as if that overwhelming anger and apathy had made him something of an actor at the same time. Sometimes his smiles were genuine and sometimes they weren’t and it was hard to tell the difference. Whatever had happened to him, it felt like it had more benefits than detractions. “I can’t imagine it would be.” Peter couldn’t help but look back towards the bar, seeing the same old men there surrounded by overturned glasses and always with a new drink in hand. Forget classless; they were depressing. He turned his attention back to Rose when she kicked him. “I can’t stay inside every night, can I?”
Resting on the table in front of him was another menu and he cracked it open, leaving it laying flat against the aged wood. Peter had never been picky when it came to food but he had never liked overly ostentatious or expensive things. Simpler the better, where he was concerned. As he read through some of the offerings, he imagined the stereotype of a werewolf ordering some ridiculous slab of meat but the thought of it was laughable at best. “I’m sure there’s something, but I’ll probably stay away from chips,” Peter commented with a laugh.
Peter leaned back a little, losing interest in the menu. “How was your flight? We didn’t talk much about it.”
-
Rose beamed at Peter, happy to see him smile. He had a great one, if only he showed it a bit more! She glanced towards the bar when he did and shook her head. “I’ll drink to forget a few things, but drinking to forget everyday? I come here to remind myself why I don’t do that.” It may have been a little harsh to say, but Rose had frequented this pub fairly often and always saw the same people in there. She had even tried to talk to a few of them, but was mostly met with confused or uncaring remarks and looks. She soon began to learn it was just best to leave them be.
She had just picked up her menu again when he made the comment about the chips. She dropped her menu on the table, her mouth open in pure shock. “No to chips? Why would you even say a thing like that?” For Rose, there was nothing more blasphemous than “staying away from the chips.”
“You could at least order them and give them to me.” This time it was met with a joking grin as she finally decided on the fish. All this talk of chips was making her crave them! She pushed the menu aside and grinned when asked about her new job. “It was fantastic! I’ve actually been on a couple more since last we chatted! Each one is getting a bit easier. I had to give the safety announcement last time! I was so nervous, I think I read everything a bit too fast, but practice makes perfect, yeah?” Rose was having the time of her life with her new job. “I haven’t really traveled to any places that are cool and exotic though. But I hope to soon! My friend suggested to take pictures with a stuffed animal or something, so I’ve been trying to do that. I’ll send you a few next time!
The waitress came over to take their order. Rose got the fish and chips as well as an ale to go with it. She handed her the menu, looking at Peter to place his order.
-
“They’ve gone past wanting to forget,” Peter replied. They reeked of regret and depression, which, strangely had a very distinct smell. It was still strange to him how those were scents he could even recognize, but beyond that, it was written on their faces. The people who clung to bars and the drinks in their hands were people who just wanted to feel numb. Peter had known what that felt like and he also knew how it felt to want to be detached and having no way to get there. At some point, alcohol couldn’t be a solution and Peter hated things that clouded his mind, even if they took the pain away. “I don’t need the reminder.”
Peter didn’t want to linger on those things anymore, even if they didn’t bother him the way they should. When he thought about how he was before, it made him disgusted and he didn’t want to go back there. It wasn’t worth it, regardless of what he probably lost in the process.
Rose’s reaction to his disinterest in french fries made him laugh. “Please forgive me,” he joked. It wouldn’t change his mind as he usually avoided things that were fatty because he was getting older and he had a streak of narcissism that would tear at him if he started to gain weight.
“That’s good to hear.” The last time they had talked in person, Rose had been looking for something new, and now she was a stewardess. One thing he could appreciate about her was the fact she didn’t just accept her lot. “It’s reasonable to nervous at first. What matters is that you gave it anyway. And I’m sure you’ll be able to give that speech in your sleep perfectly.” Peter couldn’t claim to know Rose exceptionally well, but if his assumptions were accurate, she would be just fine. “What kinds of places do you want to go to?” Having been all over the world himself, he was always interested in what people who hadn’t been thought of everything.
When the waitress came by, he handed over the menu and placed his order — a hamburger and fully intended to give the accompanying fries to Rose — and whatever beer they had on tap though he wouldn’t ever get drunk off it.
-
Rose couldn’t help but give him a shy smile as he helped talk her through the regular talk down when it came to a new job. She had only met him once, but he seemed to believe in her the way her good friends that she had known for years believed in her. She looked up at him, giving him an appreciative look. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. The more you practice, the more it’ll come second nature to you, ya?” She smiled up at the waitress as she took their menus, her full attention on Peter now.
“I’d really like to travel outside of the country actually. We’re more of a domestic flight, but there’s the possibility of it happening!” She thought about where in particular she’d want to go. “Somewhere really exotic like Japan or Egypt!” She thought about her recent conversation with Helena and how that had sparked an interest. “You were saying you traveled a lot for work! Where did you go? Favorite places that you would recommend?”
-
“That’s what I’ve always believed,” Peter replied. That was a philosophy that applied to more than just the work environment. The things that came with his dreams, all these changes to his body, working with those took an immense amount of practice, and still he was trying to master them all. Only now did he feel as if he had a modicum of control over his newly heightened senses, but he was also slowly becoming accustomed to the nearly constant barrage.
“Until you upgrade to international flights, there are certainly more than enough places worth visiting here. I’ve been to a good number of the states. Alaska was a trip I won’t forget.” There were a lot of countries he wished he had been able to see more of, but his job took precedence over any enjoyment back then. Now? He would spend half as much time in the office, but things have changed. “I did stay in Japan for a couple months and it’s an adjustment. They are amazingly punctual, but very stiff. Of course, I really only met the businessmen.” Pausing to think about the other countries he had been to, of which there was a considerable list, he was having difficulties picking those he would label as favourites. “I never liked exotic as much as I did history. Italy and Germany were two I would call favourites because of that.”
-
“You know, I never thought about Alaska.” She tilted her head, her eyes squinting just a bit as if she were seeing it far away, on the ceiling of the bar. The tip of her tongue poked out the side of her mouth and she looked at Peter, pointing at him. “I’ll have to look into that! That would certainly be a trip! Technically international since it’s attached to Canada? Even if it is a state…” But if they were talking about states not connected to the U.S. of A, Rose smiled to think of an opportunity to travel to Hawaii. Yeah, sunny and exotic sounded much better.
As he listed other countries that he had visited, Rose couldn’t help but smile to hear he was the opposite of herself; but that didn’t really surprise her. “I’ve been to Germany, but not Italy. I wasn’t too much of a fan of Germany, but then again, I was 14 years old and wanting to hang out with my friends instead.” It was so different to be over here and hear about people wanting to visit Europe and go for a tour. Sometimes Rose felt like she had already traveled half the world because she had been to the places everyone else was dying to see.
“I’ve never really thought about what states I really wanna visit.” Rose watched as the waitress came back with their drink orders. “New York definitely, maybe Florida? I hear it depends on the weather.” She smiled her thanks and held her drink out to Peter. “Cheers! Thanks for coming out and having dinner with me!”
-
“It’s not considered part of the continental US, but it’s a domestic flight. It’s still part of the US, regardless of where it is. Same with Hawaii.” Peter supposed Rose’s company would have mentioned that, but in any case, she knew that now. After all the years he spent going through airports and dealing with all that hassle, he had a generally solid idea of how the whole system worked. “It’s surprisingly gorgeous in Alaska.”
“Back when I was in high school, one of the offered languages was German and that’s what I took instead of Spanish or French. I was surprised how much I remembered the first time I actually went to Germany.” Over the years he spent there, he became fluent and if given a little time, he probably still was. Peter had only taken German all those years ago simply because his sister hadn’t liked the language, which was a petty reason, but much of his reasoning then had been on that level just out of bitterness.
Most of the states in the US didn’t hold any particular interest for him, and his experiences of out California, with a few exceptions, were lackluster at best. “New York can be unforgiving to tourists, coincidentally,” he commented with a laugh. “Tourists are likely to get scammed there, but no worse than Rome.” One of Peter’s business partners had gotten pickpocketed in Rome and though Peter had warned him, the guy chose not to listen. “I’ve never been to Florida.” With any luck, he wouldn’t ever have to go there.
“Thank you for inviting me,” he answered, holding up his own drink to hers.