Kate Freelander (nostraygrenades) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-29 20:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, kate freelander, tom branson |
Who: Kate Freelander and Tom Branson.
When: A week ago? Ish?
Where: Coffee shop.
What: A chance meeting.
Warnings/Ratings: Low. Some cursing.
Status: Complete!
Like most people his age, Tom had heard about his home country’s history through stories from his parents and grandparents, and of course in school, but it was only ever as much in depth as school could be. Given the arrival of his dreams now, though, he felt like maybe he ought to really delve into what Ireland was like almost a century ago. While Wikipedia was all well and good, Tom liked books more than internet pages. After taking out several books on Irish history and politics from the library, he took himself to a quiet cafe where he intended to drink coffee, read, and take notes.
While he waited for his drink to come up, Tom tapped his fingers on the cover of his notebook, looking around at nothing in particular.
Kate was seeking caffeine. She had just finished an unexpected shift at work, and was planning to make a trip past Bella’s condo before heading home. But at the rate she was going, she’d be lucky not to fall asleep behind the wheel.
It had been a weird few weeks, and she was less alert than usual. Digging into her pocket for cash, she all but tripped over the poor man waiting for his order.
“Shit!” The expletive was shortly followed by a quickly mumbled apology. She was terrible at these things. Really.
Tom blinked, reaching out instinctively to keep the woman from possibly topping over. He took her apology with a bit of a laugh.
“Apology accepted. I’m taking up a lot of space, it ought to be me apologizing.”
That...actually made her laugh, shaking her head. “God. I’m sorry. I think I’ve forgotten how to act in public.” She stuck out her hand. “Kate.”
“Happens to the best of us, I reckon.” Tom grinned at shook her hand. “Tom. It’s a pleasure. Really.” He laughed.
“You must like a girl who steps on you. Too bad I’m already taken.” Sort of. Maybe. Probably only from her perspective. But it was the kinder way of explaining whatever it was she had with Bellatrix.
“Darn, I’ll have to go try to get tripped on by another girl, then.” He ducked his head to hide his smile and blush. “I’m sure I’ll manage somehow.”
“You’ll just have to stand in the way more often.” There were worse people she could have tripped over. And it was cute that he blushed so easily. Smiling, she nodded toward the notebook. “Work or pleasure?”
“Pleasure. Not remotely work related.” Tom shrugged, picking up the book to show her. “Just reading up on my cultural heritage, more or less. It’s not really pleasurable to read about it, actually.”
She arched an eyebrow, more than a little amused. "But you're reading it anyway? For fun?"
“Just curious, you know? My interest’s been pretty recently sparked again, so I figured, well, why not?” Tom set the book back down with another shrug.
"I tried that. Once. I realized I was better off not knowing." She could speak the language; that was good enough for her. "I hope you have better luck."
“Heh, well. We’ll see.” Tom offered up a smile.
“Don’t sound so thrilled about it. People might think you actually want to learn something.”
“Couldn’t have that, could we.” He picked up his drink and his book. “I should probably let you get on with your day then.”
Kate figured the rest of her day was going to primarily be spent on sleep, but she nodded anyway. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You, too.” He gave her a bit of a wave. “Maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.”
"Yeah. Maybe." Then she grumbled just a bit, "And maybe next time, I'll manage not to trip over you."