InsaneJournal

Who: Padme and Liv
What: Drinks!
When: Early July
Where: The Double Tap
Rating/Warnings: Pretty low!
Status: Complete


It had been a few weeks since she ‘helped’ Padme out at the farmer’s market. But they were finally getting drinks. Not that Liv didn’t spend most of her nights stopping for a drink at the Double Tap. It was hard when she usually worked days and her boyfriend worked nights. Had to make the time where she could. Even if he was usually busy with other patrons which is why it was always nice to have a friend to drink with.

Liv sat at the bar with her jalapeno margarita (extra jalapenos, she needed it spicy) while she waited for Padme to arrive. Hopefully the other woman didn’t have trouble finding the bar. Liv was looking forward to hopefully making a new friend.

This was new for Padme.

In high school and college, she’d attended the odd party, had a few drinks, relaxed but since leaving college, she’d barely done it. With running her business, and using any spare moment to surf, she’d lost out on a lot of friendships and connections by turning things down. Since meeting Anakin and learning about her other self, she was determined to slow down and actually take the time to make friends.

And well, since Liv had literally run into her life …. This seemed appropriate.

Not having a clue what to wear, Padme opted for a simple black dress with a pair of gold ballet flats, and put her hair in a ponytail. Simple, understated and yet she felt comfortable as well. Entering the Double Tap, she peered around curiously before the shock of white hair caught her attention.

With a little wave, Padme weaved through the crowd before sitting down next to Liv at the bar.

“Am I late? Sorry if I kept you waiting! Traffic was horrendous, but it always is this late in the day.” A pause. “Or always. Traffic is always horrendous. And I even took an Uber here.” She sighed and brushed her side bangs away from her eyes. “Anyways! Hi! And ..what are you drinking? Are those jalapenos?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Liv replied with a small smile. She knew a few of the regulars and the bartender so waiting wasn’t a big deal. In fact Liv didn’t even really consider it waiting. Even if she wasn’t meeting Padme here tonight she probably still would have been here.

“Ugh I know.” It took forever to get anywhere in Orange County. “I’m glad you made it! Have a seat,” she added motioning for Padme to take the stool next to her. “They are, yes. It’s a jalapeno margarita. I highly recommend it if you like spicy.”

Padme wrinkled her nose apologetically. “I don’t,” she confessed. “I’ve never been very good at spices. I think it’s because I’ve never been exposed to them much, considering my parents are not very adventurous eaters.” She sat down on the stool and put her purse on the bar counter in front of her. “Whenever we travelled, we always stayed in resorts. I never did understand it -- what’s the point of exploring another country if you’re basically eating the same thing and doing the same thing you would at home.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“What else would you recommend for me to drink? I’m not much of a drinker, so I don’t even know where to start. I don’t work tomorrow -- for once -- so I can do what I want tonight.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation,” Liv agreed. Might as well just check themselves into a resort where they lived. They’d probably get the same experience. “What about now?” Liv asked. Obviously she didn’t do spicy but she was curious to know if Padme had gotten any more adventurous in her eating habits. “Do you still just eat the same foods?”

But right. On to drinks. “You could always get a regular margarita,” Liv offered. “Or they have a decent selection of beer here.”

“I don’t know that I’m a beer drinker,” Padme said. “But a margarita sounds great. Why not?” It did look good….she ordered one and grinned over at Liv. “Um, and I guess I ...really haven’t, but I don’t often have time to cook for myself.” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Is this where I also admit I grew up in the lap of privilege and am the very picture of an entitled basic white girl? We had staff and they cooked what my mother wanted. There were menus.”

It sounded absolutely as terrible as it was. She was so glad she’d gotten out of that, even if her sister had fully drank the kool-aid.

“So long story short -- I didn’t learn to cook much and then when I went to university and moved out, I lived on my meal plan and salads. I really like salads.” Her drink arrived and she smiled widely before taking a sip. It was lime and a bit tart but also salty and sweet and she was confused but it was nice. “What about you? You seem to like spicy things.”

Padme’s life sounded a lot different than Liv’s. It wasn’t like she grew up poor by any means. She grew up in Seattle. Had an average upbringing, single working mom, middle class. Liv didn’t get everything she wanted but she always had what she needed. Personal cooks weren’t part of that. She learned to cook at an early age for both her mother and brother, helping out where she could. It was one of the things she was kind of glad about now, she could put brains into any meal and enjoy it.

“So what do you do now?” Liv asked. “Lots of take out?” Not that there was anything wrong with that. Liv was a pretty big fan of take out herself. Especially when she had a long day at the morgue.

“I do,” Liv replied because her affinity for spice was rather obvious. “I guess food just doesn’t have enough flavor for me without it.” Or any flavor given it was the only thing she could taste, but it was easier to put it this way. And not a complete lie either. “How’s the margarita?” She had a feeling Padme liked it given the smile on her face.

“It’s good!” Padme was pleasantly surprised actually. She was also surprised at how much it didn’t really taste like alcohol. This was going to be a fun night. “I like it...and to answer your previous question, I don’t really eat much take out. I’m a surfer, that’s my passion, so I tend to eat a lot of protein and such when I’m out on the water a lot. Fast food makes me feel gross, and then lazy and then I don’t go out ...which I don’t like. So. Salads, smoothies, the odd actual meal …. I tend to cook for my boyfriend though.”

Was Anakin her boyfriend? They really hadn’t had that conversation but it was easier to say that then explain the situation.

“He has this strange relationship with food. He sees it as an energy source and doesn’t actually care what it tastes like so I’m on this quest to make him something he loves.” She took another sip of her drink. “It’s slow going.”

Liv’s smile widened just a bit. “I knew you’d like it!” she said taking another sip of hers. “You surf? I didn’t know that!” Granted there wasn’t much she did know about Padme given they had just met a few weeks ago.

That was no way to live life. Even Liv who had to eat brains to survive still tried to make them taste good. Plus cooking them into a pasta or something made her feel more human. “But even if he just sees it as fuel,” Liv began brow furrowed. “There has to be something that he actually likes. Unless his tastebuds don’t work.”

“I live to surf,” Padme said enthusiastically. “I basically started to work to just pay for it ...and then my parents wore me down so I went and got my business degree, which I’m thankful for now since I own my own business.” She stirred her drink a bit, and smiled.

“And I don’t know. I’ve tried? I mean, he doesn’t argue about anything I’ve fed him, and he does tend to eat crap...I’ll just keep working at it!” What did she know about Liv? Not much….or anything at all. “So what do you do when you’re not rescuing people? I don’t think I know what your job is.”

Owning your own business was impressive. Liv saw how much work Dan had to do with owning his own bar. “What’s your business?” Because just like Padme didn’t know much about Liv, Liv didn’t know much about Padme. Though she had probably learned a bit more than Padme had about her.

“You’ll have to let me know when you change his mind.” As for Liv? “I’m a medical examiner for the Irvine PD.”

“I’m a wedding planner,” Padme said proudly. “I do the odd event for my mother, who is a senator, and my father, who is a general. Usually it’s for fundraising, so I don’t mind helping with that. Whatever I can do to help out, I like to do that.” Plus, then she can be sure that the event runs smoothly.

“And wow, a medical examiner?” She drank a bit of her margarita, noting how quickly it was going down and brushed some hair from her face. “Your job sounds infinitely more interesting and important than mine. I deal with rich, privileged people. You ...wow. Medical examiner……I guess you work closely with the police?”

Well now Liv knew who to go to if she and Dan ever got engaged. Which was a big if given all their recent issues. “That sounds like a really romantic job,” Liv commented. Seeing people get married all the time? You’d have to be a romantic at heart for that.

“Yeah. I try to help get justice for people who can’t get it for themselves.” It was the best way to put it.

Romantic. That was a good way of looking at it. Padme finished her drink and smiled at the bartender when he came to get her empty glass. And ordered another one, because why not. Let her hair down a little bit. “I do get to see a lot of facets of love,” she agreed. “And lots of different couples. I find it so interesting to see people together. It always makes me wonder about attraction and how do people find each other, you know? What about this person makes you tingle when no one else does …” She’d wondered that a lot since meeting Anakin.

When her new drink came, she picked up and lifted it in Liv’s direction. “Well cheers to both of us making society a better place. I help them in love, and you help them ...well get justice, like you said. I’m glad I met you, Liv. You’re fun.”

“Right back at you,” Liv replied taking a long sip of her drink. And she had a feeling the rest of the night was going to be full of fun too.