Entry tags:

!complete, !partner thread, julian randol, leon orcot

Who: Leon and Julian
What: Leon goes to pick up lunch for himself and Laurel
When: Today, September 7th at around noon
Where: Squirrel Creek
Ratings/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Complete | Partner Thread


It was Leon’s turn to grab lunch for him and Laurel, and he’d heard good things about Squirrel Creek, not least of which was that it was owned by someone on the Network. Zombies weren’t exactly Leon’s idea of a good time, but Daryl seemed nice enough, even if Leon had never met him in person. If he happened to change that today, even better. There was rarely any downside to knowing a lot of people from the Network.

He didn’t spot Daryl, but he was surprised to spot another familiar face. “Hey, John!” he called, remembering only belatedly that John couldn’t actually hear him. Still, he’d managed to catch his eye, and he grinned, waved, and then, frowning in concentration, signed I didn’t know you worked here. Or something like it, at least. It was probably close enough to be understood.

---

With Raven in the hospital he'd needed something to do. Working seemed like the best thing to him. Especially when it would put his mind on better things. Keep him from going absolutely crazy with worry. Besides, if something went wrong then John would message him and let him know. That way he could get someone to cover for him and go see if he could help.

Hearing some stranger holler at him thinking he was John has him stopping short. He'd been about to head into the back when he'd heard the voice. Honestly? He couldn't remember the last time he'd been mistaken for his brother. They used to get that kind of thing in his school. He does, however, give Leon a bit of a smile before signing I'm not John.

"You must be a friend of my brother's, I take it?"

---

Leon couldn’t help the small sigh of relief when the other man spoke and he could hear no sign of the deaf accent. Since Chris could actually hear him, Leon hadn’t bothered to learn how to do much more than understand sign language - and that was before he was able to understand his brother’s thoughts, and so now he didn’t even do that very often. Actually using sign language was a completely different animal; John had seemed capable enough at reading lips, but reading lips wasn’t exactly a precise science and Leon had felt a little bad making him do it.

“I don’t know if I’d say friend,” Leon said, shrugging. “He helped my kid brother out once though, so I owe him. He seemed like a good guy though.” He extended his hand. “Leon Orcot.”

---

The sigh of relief made Julian wonder how often this man had to use sign language. He used it because of his brother and forgot to talk sometimes, but that was normally because he was signing to John. Or, he caught himself signing automatically. More to keep from getting rusty than anything else. Especially living in a house with his brother and Raven.

"What was wrong with your brother?" He asks with a frown, his mind running through a million and one different scenarios. None of them were particularly good. That hand, however, does get a firm handshake. "Julian Murphy. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Orcot." When he does pull his hand away, he gives Leon a small smile.

"You seemed like a man on a mission when you came in. Anything I can help with?"

---

Leon frowned a little. There was a lot wrong with Chris, and Leon was more than convinced that he wasn’t the best person to help his brother through everything. But it wasn’t like Julian was asking for his brother’s whole life story. “He’s mute,” Leon said. “It’s an anxiety thing,” he added, waving his hand a little dismissively, hopefully to dissuade any follow up questions. “Anyway, I sent him into this joint to order us some burgers while I found a parking spot, and I guess the teenage dirtbag kid on the till gave him a hard time about it. John saw what was happening and helped place the order and I think helped Chris calm down a little.” Leon still felt bad about the whole thing. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Chris didn’t actually talk out loud.

“I just came in to order lunch for me and my partner,” Leon said. “My turn to pick up food and all that. What’s good?”

---

"Everyone has their ways of dealing with things."

That dismissive hand wave didn't really do anything for him, save for it being an annoying hand gesture. He does, however, listen as Leon explains what happened. If it had been him instead of John, the outcome would've been the same. Except that he'd have probably got the idiot teen fired.

"Normally, with the Squirrel, people come in for the lobster. One of the best dishes in this place."

---

“Yeah, some people better than others,” Leon muttered. He didn’t think it was healthy for Chris to keep it up, but it wasn’t as though he’d been able to provide Chris with any amount of stability since he’d come to live with him. He just kept piling the trauma’s up on the kid without giving him a chance to work through any of it.

This wasn’t the time or the place to be thinking of any of that though, so he forced it out of his mind, and instead frowned at the suggestion of lobster. He flipped open the menu, looking for it. “How much is that?” he asked. “Sounds expensive.”

---

"Some."

He knew that some had better ways of dealing with things. Some had worse ways. He, himself, had gotten into a ton of fights in his high school years. Especially when idiots had decided that his brother was someone to pick on. No one was allowed to pick on John. And now that he was back home, he'd make sure to keep that mentality. He'd just have to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble.

"Don't worry about expenses right now."

---

Leon frowned, blinking in surprise. He was a naturally suspicious man - it came with the job, he supposed, and for a minute he found himself wondering what Julian thought he could get away with by bribing a cop with lobster dinners. He pushed the thought out of his head. Leon was in plain clothes, and unless Julian jumped straight to ‘cop’ from his mention of a partner, he probably didn’t even know that Leon was a cop. He was probably just being friendly because his brother had helped out Leon’s brother.

“Thanks. I can’t accept a free meal though,” Leon said after a second of surprised silence. “I’m on the clock right now, and that sorta thing can get me in shit. Detective and all,” he said, flashing his badge. “But hell, if you’re so sure about the lobster, I guess I don’t got a choice. I’ll take two.”

---

If Leon were to talk to anyone that knew Julian, he'd find out that the man was a jack of all trades. So, the mention of partners to him literally meant cop or military personnel. Somewhere along those lines. Though, he tried not to think about the military aspect of things. Honestly? His brother had helped the man's brother out. So, why not help the guy out too?

He gives Leon a bit of a smile, the badge not much of a surprise. Which meant he was partially right. Didn't mean the man couldn't very well have been military too. "Well, if you can't accept a free meal due to the job, how about we just give it to you half off instead." Watching him for a moment, he turns slightly," You want anything to drink while you sit and wait? Since I'll be making your meals personally myself."

---

Leon’s frown returned as he thought it over. He knew guys who would imply that they should get discounts for being cops when they couldn’t accept free shit, and it always felt slimy to Leon. But it wasn’t like he’d asked for a discount, so that counted for something. “Yeah, I can do that,” he said after a moment. “Coke will be fine.” Beer would be better, but he hadn’t drank on the job in over a year now, and he intended to keep it that way.

---

A part of Julian wanted to tell Leon that he frowned a lot. If it was one thing that he was, it was observant. This cop had been doing that quite a bit, it seemed. He does, however, give a nod before heading back to grab him a coke and sets it down in front of him once he comes back.

"It'll be ready in a bit," he tells him before disappearing back to the kitchen. It doesn't take too long before Julian comes back out and sets down a bag with two boxes in it. Full meals with the juiciest lobster that the Squirrel had and all the fixings to go with it.

"I hope you and your partner enjoy the food."

---

Leon did frown a lot - it tended to be his natural state of being. His smiles weren’t rare, per se, but they weren’t common.

Julian got one when he brought out the lobsters though - a big, toothy grin as soon as the scent from the lobster. “Thanks man,” he said, taking the lobster. “I’ll definitely be back sometime soon.”

---