ᴡᴇ ᴘɪʟʟᴀɢᴇ, ᴡᴇ (plunder) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-07-14 19:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, heather miller, killian jones (captain hook) |
Who: Killian Jones & Heather Miller
What: Checking up on a lass he worked a case for, and also ordering some delicious steak
When: Recently, after the 4th of July
Where: Miller's Meats
Rating/Warnings: Pretty low!
Status: Complete
Killian had a couple reasons for visiting Miller’s Meats today, now that the dust from the latest debacle had settled. One was that the owner happened to be a lass he knew and had done some work for - it was somewhat eerie, how much she resembled Kenzi, with bright azure eyes and plump lashes, the same colour hair too. Actually, Killian himself had that identical dark hair, blue-eyed aesthetic as well (perhaps they were secretly cousins or something). The girl, Heather, was sweet though. A lot sweeter than Killian’s adorably crass sister, but he liked her just fine. Wanting to check up on her was his main objective in visiting, to see if she’d followed through with the information about her birth mother that he’d found for her. Secondly, he wanted some bloody good delicious steaks. A treat for himself and Kenzi, perhaps, and a way to celebrate him acquiring his legal PI licence. He planned to cook them a feast of a dinner at the houseboat, so he’d go all the way - steak from the butcher, fresh vegetables from either the farmer’s market or his own sad, little garden on deck, a dessert made from scratch. He’d figure that part out later, though. Into the butcher’s he went, bells on the door jangling - it was a bit chilly within, a nice respite from the heat outdoors. Heather wasn’t expecting him but he’d just amuse himself up by the front counter until she came out; the Captain was in no particular hurry. The Fourth had been busy for Heather and her crew. She'd made it into her shop without any incidents, thankfully enough, so she'd been able to operate on her normal hours. People had taken advantage of the sales that she had going on, and she was happy enough making sure that they had everything that they needed for their cookouts. As it was, Heather was in the back, behind the glass that separated the front from the back so people could watch her as she worked. The jingle of the bell caused her to glance up, and she smiled as she saw Killian. Holding up a hand, to signal she'd be up there in just a moment, she pulled her gloves off and tossed them into the trash before she moved to the sink to wash her hands. A few moments later, Heather was up at the counter, a small smile on her face. "Long time no see. How've you been? Monsters coming through rifts aside." “Oh, that was quite the adventure,” he snorted in dry amusement - honestly, it was a wonder he hadn’t turned back to the ways of alcoholism after everything. But no, he’d worked too hard to go back on the whiskey for breakfast, for example, and now only tended to drink in the occasional social situation. “Got some nasty, man-eating mermaids swimming through one of those green rift things, though we took care of them. Now, it’s a matter of getting back to work and swiftly completing the cases I’ve got lined up.” Plus, his godson had been born recently - little Nikolas, and it felt like they’d been waiting forever just for him to make his grand debut. Killian was a bit disappointed about leaving so soon to do some traveling for his job, but the cookie crumbled that way sometimes. “Speaking of, darling - “ He leaned against the counter a bit, a casual stance, “...have you reached out to anyone in particular lately?” Chuckling, Heather gave a small nod of her head. "So I heard. I was lucky, and didn't run into anything." She was grateful for her little stroke of luck since it was so rare these days. Her dreams were dark, full of blood, gore and fear. Right now she was just hoping to survive them, and she thought maybe, just maybe, she'd be one of the lucky ones that would survive. "Sounds like that really was quite the adventure." Again, she was fine with not having to deal with anything. Man-eating or otherwise. Curiously Heather canted her head to the side as Killian leaned forward, and then she let out a long breath. She'd been waiting on that question. Not just from him, but from other people that she'd spoken with on the Network. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak to her birth mother, she was just afraid that she'd reject her. "No," she admitted finally with a small shake of her head, "I...it's not that I don't want to, obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have hired you, but I worry that she might not want to hear from me. I just don't know if I could handle that sort of rejection, you know?" He understood, he did - and Killian didn’t exactly have a great relationship with his parents (well, to be fair, his mum had died due to complications in her pregnancy with him, something his drunken father really loved to remind his youngest son about when the sod was still alive) and that could be why the ‘long lost family member’ cases were so special and personal to him. Because he too had a long lost sister, recently found, and he wished for those he knew to be able to have a better familial life. A second chance, of sorts, like how he was lucky enough to get with Kenzi. “If she doesn’t want to hear from you, well, you tried and you know what kind of person she truly is,” he said, shrugging one shoulder. “That’s all on her, and it’s nothing you did. But who knows - she could be living every day wondering how you are and wishing she knew you. Won’t know ‘til you try.” Potential rejection from a parent could indeed be harsh, but it was a risk that one had to take in a situation like this - that potential payoff could be life changing, on the flip side. Heather had thought all of those things over and over inside of her head. Still, the negative kept winning out over the positive, and she really just needed to bite the bullet and call her. Killian was right though, and Heather knew it. There was a chance that she'd wondered what'd happened to the baby girl she'd given up all those years ago, and well, Heather had the information at her fingertips all she had to do was hit a few numbers. "You're right." She admitted with a small nod of her head, "I just need to do it to find out one way or another." She would do it, and soon. "So, is there anything that I can get for you today?" Heather didn't think he'd just come to ask about if she'd called her mother or not. Even if that was the entire reason for his visit, Heather was grateful for it. She needed a right kick in the ass to get herself motivated. “Glad to hear it,” Killian smiled, a flash of those shark’s teeth, polished and pearly. It was a pleased expression that made his bright eyes crinkle at the corners, all of that ‘drop your knickers’ type of charm. Pirates, you just couldn’t take them anywhere. But alright, he wouldn’t prod the poor girl about contacting her mum any longer. Now to see if she could assist with a rather meaty problem of his - likely it would be no trouble, this was a place practically bursting with quality meat (so many jokes, so little time). “Well, actually, I also came in to pick up a couple of steaks,” he said. “For a celebratory dinner. Spare no expense as well, I want this to be worthy of a food coma.” He didn’t mind paying a little extra for a good cut of meat, something that you couldn’t really find at any chain grocery store - not like he or Kenzi had steak all that often. “I suppose it can be beef from grass-fed cows or however it goes? Does that really make it taste better?” Really, he had no clue. "It does, actually." Heather replied with a soft smile. There was something better about the taste of organic beef, "Grass fed contains more nutrients than grain fed, and tends to have less fat too since they don't force the cows to grow quickly by pumping them full of drugs." Heather was quite passionate about the meat she cut and handed off to her customers. She didn't want to give them anything less than perfect. "But regardless that's what you'd get here. We don't cut anything that isn't organic cause I'm a snob like that." She gave Killian a wink and then pushed back from the counter. "I've got the perfect cut in mind though, I'll be back in just a few." With that, Heather disappeared into the back. Boneless Ribeyes were Heather's personal choice when it came to cuts of steak. The flavor was better than the others, and you couldn't beat the tenderness even if there was a bit more fat around the edges. After putting on her apron and gloves, Heather went to work cutting off two ribeyes, and she removed the bone from them before placing them into the butcher's paper. Going back out front, Heather held the meat in her hands, still not wrapped since she wanted Killian to look at the cuts before she wrapped and put a price on them. They were darker in color than the ones you'd typically see in the grocery store, with wonderful marbling throughout the meat that would give it a better flavor once cooked. "What do you think?" She asked, glancing over at him. Oh, bloody hell, those looked lovely. He wasn’t an expert the way Heather was, but Killian still drooled a little upon seeing those cuts of meat - he supposed anyone would (provided they weren’t a vegetarian, that is). Mostly because he was just imagining how well they’d turn out when he grilled them perfectly, adding just a bit of spice and flavour - though clearly, the flavour of the meat could stand out all on its own. “I’m grateful that you’re a snob, those look wonderful,” he chuckled lightly. “I’ll grill them outdoors - or do you think pan frying inside would work?” Apparently, steak snobbery culture was real too - but he supposed he could see it; how you prepared a steak said a lot about you. Pouring ketchup on a fine cut of beef also said a lot about you too - that you had no taste, or something. "I say grill them." Heather responded with a smile, pleased that he liked the cuts of meat. Carefully she began to wrap them, "Just make sure you give them time to rest once they're off the heat. Ten minutes should be enough so they'll absorb back all their juices." There was nothing worse than watching people cut into a good steak minutes after it'd been pulled off the heat, and seeing all of the juices all over the plate. It was such a waste in Heather's opinion. She handed over the packages, "It's on the house today. Consider it a thank you for getting my ass into gear about calling my mom." Heather was good to good people, Killian had helped her out a lot more than he'd ever really know and she wanted to show her appreciation to him for that. To the Captain’s credit, he didn’t make a crass quip about absorb back all their juices even though the innuendo was on the tip of his tongue. If Regina were here, she would have rolled her eyes but anyway. He was glad he’d come in here for a good chunk of the celebratory dinner - those steaks would be the crowning glory of the meal. “On the house? Really?” He was surprised, but in a pleasant way. She really was a sweet girl, that Heather. “Kind of you, love, thank you. I do hope everything works out with your mum - let me know how it goes, yes?” Gathering the packages under his arm, he gave her a departing wink before heading for the door - but he’d be back, that was for certain. For a shoppe stuffed with dead animals, you really couldn’t find a better ambiance. |