InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "[exit persued by a bear]"

Caleb Danvers (c_danvers) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2019-05-11 18:06:00

Entry tags:

!partner thread, alex manes, caleb danvers

Who: Caleb Danvers and Alex Manes
What: Random encounter
Where: Local coffee shop
When: Recently
Rating: PG; will update if necessary
Status: In Progress

Coffee is life. Caleb was absolutely dragging so far this day and he really needed a pick me up. Hopefully it would jump start him and he could actually be somewhat productive. Finals were coming up and he needed to finish studying. It was a little crazy in this last stretch of the semester and he honestly couldn't wait until summer break was finally here. Luckily his hours at the bar weren't bad enough to affect his studying. Working on the weekends wasn't too bad when it came to studying, but he definitely made sure to get off earlier on Sunday nights, which would change once finals were over.

He stood in line, studying the menu to decide if he wanted something new or his tried and true black coffee, and then placed his order (he did decide to go with the black coffee). He stepped off to the side to wait for his order before pulling out his phone to check on things in the mean time. He didn't hear a name called when a drink was placed and he reached out to check what it was and accidentally bumped into someone else, "Oh! Sorry about that."

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c_danvers
2019-05-28 09:50 pm UTC (link)

It is definitely a learning on the job situation. I have gotten pretty good at making drinks, but I think what I enjoy most is just interacting with people. There are some really interesting people that come in there," Caleb also really liked his bosses and his coworkers. They made things fun and he could always use more of that in his life, especially at work. Sometimes it sucked, but it hadn't gotten to the point where he wanted to quit yet.

"Ahhh, that does make sense. And sounds like you are a little sick of the join the military sales pitch," Caleb couldn't help but laugh at Alex's mocking tone. It probably got old real fast having to hear that over and over. The mention that he did steal info earned a raised eyebrow from Caleb and a smirk, "I knew you couldn't be that perfect and saintly."

"Look at you with the JP trivia. Maybe I will have to see if we can have a trivia day with the kids or something. And definitely do, like I said, it is way more mellow on the weeknights. No one wants to party hard on a Tuesday, typically," Caleb wasn't going to come right out and say he was basically trying to ensure they saw each other again just yet, but he would work at it for a bit.

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notamanesman
2019-05-28 10:11 pm UTC (link)

"Interesting people help make a job," Alex agreed, though he was pretty sure his social battery would be drained within an hour of having to engage with people he didn't know on a fairly intense basis. He rubbed behind his ear, fingers catching on the scar and scratching at it before he picked up his coffee again.

He chuckled, "There's the sales pitch to get you to join, and then the sales pitch to tell you it's okay to go back to being a civilian." His eyebrows lifted. "Oh, no, I am. This was Government sponsored stealing. Pretty sure that doesn't count, Caleb."

Jurassic Park had been one of his favourite films as a kid, along with practically anything Lucas and Spielberg had directed. Some things, Alex found, you never grew out of. "Pretty sure they found sabertoothed squirrels too, just after the first Ice Age film came out. Or the second... I don't know, I was in Baghdad and then Iraq."

His eyebrow lifted again. "Tuesdays, huh?"

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c_danvers
2019-05-28 10:28 pm UTC (link)

"I have some great stories to tell people as ice breakers now. I mean, how many people can say they watched two skinny guys in booty shorts play chicken on the shoulders of two overly bronzed body builders?" Caleb still laughed about that memory. It was soon after he started working there and soon realized this club wasn't the typical frat boy bar he went to when he first moved to California.

He lifted a hand to run it through his hair as he listened to Caleb. It was interesting to watch him as he spoke about being in the military. It wasn't often he got to talk to someone after their time was done in the service. His voice was soft, "the second part is probably the toughest. And you sure you never did any hacking outside of the government? You seem like the kind of guy to hack into your high school records." His voice was teasing with the second comment.

"I am definitely looking up a sabertooth squirrel later. And don't worry, I have never seen an Ice Age movie," that had never been a movie that appealed to him and he still didn't watch a ton of animated movies. At Caleb's question he gave him a full smile, "Tuesdays. I will be working this next one and I will let you have control of the music for an hour if you show."

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notamanesman
2019-05-28 10:58 pm UTC (link)

Alex coughed, having inhaled sharply at Caleb's ice-breaker story. His cup was placed on the table and he wheezed a little before laughing, partly at his own reaction and partly at the mental image that had been painted. "That- yeah, that's quite the- yeah. That's quite a story." Because what else did you say to something like that? Alex's exposure to that culture was relatively limited, too.

He sighed, nodding his agreement. "Civilian adjustment is... challenging." Add the dreams on top of that, the fact that some really messed up stuff was happening to his friends, and he didn't quite know what to think. It made him feel helpless in a way that made his stomach sit uncomfortably. "Hey now, I was enough of a good student." Thinking about high school made him feel old, it felt like a lifetime ago. His lips did curl up into the ghost of an impish smile, because though the rules he'd broken in high school were many, he'd never actually hacked anything.

He waved a hand. "You're not missing out. On Ice Age, that is." He'd seen the first one and turned the second one off since it didn't really appeal to him. The humour wasn' quite his preferred style.

"A whole hour?" he drawled, dragging it out a little, "Well, now there's an offer I can't refuse."

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c_danvers
2019-05-29 12:23 pm UTC (link)

Alex's reaction was absolute perfection and Caleb couldn't help but elicit a loud laugh with a bright smile as he watched Alex try to recover. He almost reached over to pat him on the back to help him breathe a little, but thought that might be going a bit too far on a first meeting, "I'm glad you enjoyed that one. It's one of my favorites. Happened soon after I started working there and I was so not prepared for it."

That was all that Alex needed to say on the subject, Caleb could tell it was a bit touchy and he gave him a nod of understanding. Hopefully Alex was able to find himself in the civilian life and not be hurting like so many veterans were when they returned. "Enough...key word. Means there's some wiggle room to not be a 'good' student," Caleb pointed out with a smile. Caleb really did enjoy school, probably part of why he wanted to go into history and spend a lifetime learning, but even he saw the merits to life outside the classroom.

"Well good, I'm glad I haven't missed something amazing. And yes, a whole hour. It can be extended longer if your music choices are accepted by our minimal Tuesday crew," the explanation wasn't really necessary, but hopefully it would allow Alex to stay a bit longer than an hour if he was having fun.

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notamanesman
2019-05-29 09:08 pm UTC (link)

Alex thumped his chest, having inhaled his coffee in a way that was borderline painful. "Is it the best one you've got or do you have others?" He resisted picking up his coffee again, just in case.

He shrugged. "I had an attitude problem," he offered, "which got me in detention more often than not." Something that had seemed ironic considering how well he'd flourished in the military, under the strict rules that had been enforced. His eyebrow quirked, "If you can believe that."

With a chuckle, Alex nodded his head, "Okay, okay, I'll come on Tuesday. Bring a friend or something so I'm not just sitting alone at the bar."

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c_danvers
2019-05-29 11:39 pm UTC (link)

"Um, so far that's the best one. I'm waiting for all the craziness to start now that school's wrapping up," Caleb was looking forward to business picking up once everyone was finished with classes for the year. He knew something crazy was probably going to happen and was ready to repeat the story.

At the mention of an attitude problem Caleb took a moment to study Alex and he could see a small hint of something in him that could be defiance. "Actually, I feel like I could believe it. I think everyone has a bit of an attitude problem especially in a setting like high school. You seem a bit sassy." Caleb sometimes got in trouble for his mouth when he was with his friends, but if he was alone he wasn't as bad, but there was just something about the deep seeded need to rebuke authority.

"Sounds good, I'm looking forward to seeing you there," there was an honest smile on Caleb's face. Alex was interesting and refreshing to talk to. It was better to do a meet-cute at a coffee shop apparently.

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