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Your friendly neighborhood Xander-shaped friend. (xander_shaped) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2010-04-17 03:37:00

Entry tags:

xander harris

WHO: Xander and Steph.
WHAT: Ice cream.
WHEN: Early evening.
WHERE: Lawrence, Kansas. Some random ice cream shop.
RATING: Low.

It was a simple enough ice cream shop. Two rows of tables lined along the side of the shop, posters advertising different brands of ice cream on the walls, and a slow stream of customers lazily weaving in and out of the building. It was all average. Not unexpected. In fact, if Xander had come here by himself he'd probably feel terribly underwhelmed. Just another day in Lawrence at some run of the mill ice cream store with nothing to do but...nothing. That wasn't today though. Not anymore. Xander had started thinking that he was going to be spending his day shuffling around his apartment with nothing to do but lose hiself in the unpleasant stream of depression that he had been battling for the past several days. He probably would have, too, if Xander hadn't decided that he was going to try giving some quality time out of his apartment and in the company of a...friend? A...someone. What made this outing so very special was that he wasn't just going out. He was being given the opportunity to spend time with another one of the DC folk. Someone that Xander had already had his prized moment of embarrassing freakouts over, which would at least hold him over in that regard for another...oh, three days? No fanboying for three days. He could totally manage that and be cool and not emotional or lame for a while, right? It wasn't like Steph was gonna freak on him or anything. She was cool. It was cool. This, going out to get ice cream, was cool.

With a sundae in hand, Xander located when of the corner tables and settled into one of the chairs. He dug his plastic spoon into the sundae and took a bite, waiting with a determined sort of front about himself for Steph to come back from the side counter, where their ice creams were being created and delivered. The sundae, he found, wasn't too bad. So Xander took another bite and looked out the window thoughtfully, trying to figure out what to say to Steph that didn't delve into her personal life - the comic book stuff that he knew of, anyway - too much.

"Remind me to dunk a dollar into the tip bucket up there," Xander said, voice jumping from his throat unexpectedly the second that he heard Steph come along. He looked over at her and forced a smile, eyes flicking off to the mentioned bucket. "You drop money in, the crew behind the counter has to burst into song. They do it every time. All in order, all prepared. It's like a real live musical, minus the perfected singing and more with the annoying jingles that no one really cares about. You ever been here before?"

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stephaniebrown
2010-04-17 09:22 am UTC (link)

Ah, ice cream. No matter how bad the winter got, not that it was winter yet, or even bad out, it was never too cold for ice cream. That was something Stephanie had decided long ago, when she was still tiny enough for her parents to carry her around. So, when Xander had suggested ice cream, there was no way that Stephanie was going to turn it down.

She couldn't help chuckling a bit as she settled down in the seat across from him, then turned to prop her back against the wall and rest her feet in the chair beside her. Her mom would have fussed about sitting like that in a restaurant but, for one, an ice cream shop hardly counted as a restaurant, and for two, her mom wasn't there. Stephanie had used her own money that she'd gotten working her first job ever to pay for the ice cream, not money she talked her mom into giving her. And that was something that she was pretty proud of. Even if her first job was working at a comic shop where she winced any time she saw someone buy a comic book with the DC logo in the corner. Stupid DC.

"Not until today," she said, answering his question with a grin. "I've only been here three weeks, after all. And I just got a paycheck, so this is pretty much my first time spending any money in Lawrence." And boy wasn't that the truth. "And don't worry, I'll totally remind you to tip them for that."

Stephanie was glad to have gotten Xander out of the apartments because, really, she was pretty sure that he had been less sick and more upset lately. It wasn't something that she was going to bring up, of course, just something she'd suspected considering the night before he started talking about being sick he had said things along the lines of 'All my girls die.' Yes, he was drunk, but she'd seen the conversation that had come before that statement and it wasn't hard to figure out what he meant. Besides, she was a masked hero, she was supposed to be able to figure things out about people based on little clues here and there. Like that statement and the way that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"This ice cream's good though," he said with an approving nod after taking a bite of her coffee flavored ice cream from the waffle cone that held it so securely.

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xander_shaped
2010-04-17 06:04 pm UTC (link)

"That's when that realization kicks in, huh?" Xander leaned back in his chair, twisting the plastic spoon into his ice cream. "Job. Money. Makes it all official: you're stuck in Crazyville, Kansas. Population? A buncha people, a handful of monsters, and an ice cream shop filled with hard-working employees who will sing." Xander looked over at one of the people being the counter at that, who clearly managed to overhear the stressed "will sing" part of his statement. An affronted look found the employee. Oh, he knew. He knew what was coming. Xander was pretty sure that everyone that worked here dreaded the moment in which they had to start belting out all of these practiced, showsy tunes, but he didn't care. That was part of the appeal, wasn't it? Besides, the tip would help. They'd go home a dollar richer tonight. Looking mildly amused, Xander took another bite out of his sundae. There was just something incredibly satisfying about having a bowl of ice cream in one hand and an evil scheme in the other.

"It's the best ice cream I've found since getting here, I'll give the place that," he commented, "and trust me, I've looked. Me and Willow - a friend from home - used to do this thing in high school where we'd go out and get ice cream every Friday night. Always went to this little place not too far from The Bronze. Had the best banana split in the world." High school. Sunnydale. It all seemed like ages ago, didn't it?

"How's the job thing working out for you, anyway?" It definitely wasn't her run in the vigilante that she was probably more accustomed to, but he figured that there had to be some form of excitement that came with working the traditional nine to five. Like an extra nap during the day when business was slow, maybe? He didn't know. He couldn't take naps where he worked - you kinda had to stay awake to build things on construction sites. Constant building, all day long. There really wasn't room for much of anything else. Except lunch. Ah, his favorite part of the day.

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stephaniebrown
2010-04-17 07:47 pm UTC (link)

Stephanie nodded, grinning a bit as she took another bite of her ice cream. "Don't forget," she started once she finished the delicious bite of coffee flavored goodness. "I'm from Gotham. I'm pretty used to weird anyway, so at least that part isn't all that new to me." And she really was from Gotham. Like, genuinely. As in born and raised there, with the exception of that year in Africa. But hey, that wasn't really her choice. She had to make with the time away to keep everyone safe and to, you know, keep from dying herself. "But at least now I'm not going to have to rely on what's in the big complex kitchen if I want to eat. Plus? New clothes. Or, well, tomorrow I'll get some new clothes." Of course Stephanie looked forward to new clothes. She was female. And she knew that she couldn't exactly get expensive stuff, not that she ever really did back home anyway, but the point was simple. New clothes.

But Xander's little story about getting weekly ice cream made her smile a bit more. Hopefully, Willow wasn't one of the girls that he'd mentioned a few nights earlier. Stephanie got the feeling that she wasn't, thanks to the fact that mentioning her didn't seem to bring him down, so that was good. "That's cool, actually. I never really had any traditions like that or anything. Unless you count kicking criminals in the face, occasionally along side someone, a tradition. Or how my mom usually makes me waffles when she gets home from work, which is roughly around the time that I'm getting up for the day," she said with a shrug. A normal life, Stephanie never had.

"The job's alright I guess. There isn't tons of work for me to do there or anything. I help bag up the comics and inventory them on Wednesdays, get them put on the shelves in the right spot, check out customers when they decide to come in, the normal stuff I guess. Not that I'm an expert on normal. I've never actually had a real job before." Did crimefighting count? She sure hoped it counted. "I get a lot of weird looks for working there though. Probably because I'm a girl."

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xander_shaped
2010-04-18 05:45 am UTC (link)

New clothes. The statement didn't mean too much to Xander since he was the kind of guy who could get by on plaid and jeans, but he knew what it was like for those pesky women. He had dated Cordelia Chase, after all. If there was anyone in the world that could give a good, quality, pain in the ass lecture about fashion and how important it truly was, it was...had been Cordy. Xander bit back a wince and focused on his ice cream. Mm, ice cream. The cure to all illnesses. "You had me on the food part," Xander replied, biting onto his spoon. "Nothin' better than a fully stocked fridge. A fridge that is your fridge. The food they keep downstairs is good enough, but it doesn't exactly fill the personal preference category, huh?"

Kicking criminals in the face. What a tradition indeed. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better? Stopping apocalypses is like tradition for me and the others from my home. Criminals and monsters and all that stuff? Definitely counts toward as an acceptable tradition to me." The waffle thing was nice too. He didn't really have anything like that to savor from his family - his family, unfortunately, was filled with alcoholic jackasses - but the memories he had built with his friends were more than good enough. Ice cream with Willow. Not everyone had that.

"Comics?" Xander suddenly looked amused. If he was a comic book character come to life, he sincerely doubted that he'd spend all of his time holed up in the place that told his story. Of course, at the same time, it was a great way to catch up on what people did know. "Do you ever read your comics?" He had to ask. With reversed roles, Xander knew that was exactly what he'd have done. "There's nothing wrong with a chick working in a comic store." Xander grinned lightly. "Actually, it's kind of appealing. If I didn't already know who you were? Yeah, it'd be a..." Turn on. "Appealing trait." He looked down at his ice cream again. Oh yeah. Attractive girl, spending her time at a comic shop? Poor Steph probably only got the weird looks because geeks were too busy drooling over her.

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stephaniebrown
2010-04-18 09:08 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, they keep decent enough food downstairs. All the basics and stuff. Ham and bologna for sandwiches, but not turkey or roast beef like I like, but that's because those aren't the most common sandwich preferences out there." Or, Stephanie noticed, the most inexpensive sandwich meats. Why the hell did roast beef cost so much anyway? "But on the other hand, now I have to buy all the stuff instead of just putting it on the grocery list for my mom to pick up later so I now get to see how expensive some of my favorite foods are compared to others. Meaning, I'll be eating ham instead of roast beef for a little while now anyway." But that didn't really bother Stephanie all that much anyway. It wasn't like switching sandwich meats was the biggest sacrifice ever.

"Already used to fighting the big fight, huh?" Stephanie said with a grin and a slight chuckle. "That just sounds like something else we've got in common." Granted, it wasn't like Xander was the only person she ever met she had that in common with. Far from it, actually. And it wasn't quite apocalypses that Stephanie fought against, but some of the criminals she'd faced could easily be considered monsters.

But what Xander said about a girl having a job at a comic shop being an appealing trait, that actually made Stephanie laugh some. She wasn't exactly known for being the most popular girl in the world in the guy department, after all. "Appealing, right. A lot of these guys, I've got to admit. They're probably just thrown by seeing a real life human girl, because they really seem like the kinds of people that have spent way too much time on the computer in their mom's basement." Several of them came off as really creepy, too. But sadly not in a way that meant she could just punch them. "And I've flipped through the first couple issues of my comics, it seems to be a while behind me. I don't even have my Batgirl suit in them yet. But over all, I can't really say I've read much in the way of comics since I was a kid." After all, once you started wearing a mask yourself it kinda seemed to make reading about superheroes kinda... pointless.

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xander_shaped
2010-04-18 10:47 pm UTC (link)

"I dunno about that, I like turkey. Roast beef? I can go either way on that one." But he understood what she was talking about. Things like sandwich meat and favorite food brands and all those specific preferences may not have seemed like a big deal to anyone passing by, but having to live off of the standard selection was kind of a pain. It was useful and Xander was definitely grateful for it, but being able to pick and choose his own meals was preferred. "But it's a start, isn't it? Getting the cash to buy your own meals is the beginnings of a very fine dining experience. Or you could always head out to Wendy's or Burger King. I've found that's my standard preference. Nothing wrong with a good cheeseburger and a side of fries." He flashed another light grin. Honestly, Xander was beginning to think that a cheeseburger would be a great meal for dinner. Ice cream, followed by a cheeseburger. Well, at least no one could say that all this information about his dead exes was ruining his appetite for greasy foods.

"Doesn't seem like I'd be the type of guy who was, huh?" Xander shook his head, then pointed a finger at her. "If you think me and monsters and apocalypses are outta place, you should try talking to Andrew. Now there's a guy that you'd think wouldn't know a damn thing about the hassle that comes with the kinda life I'm used to. I'm not too big of a fan of the guy, but he's been sort of...helpful." Xander didn't want to talk too much about Andrew. The important thing was that Buffy trusted him. All thoughts of him beyond his being useful were not allowed to happen. Xander didn't wanna dwell on the fact that he had experienced something...unpleasant with the former "evil" villain. God. No.

Xander poked at his ice cream, then shrugged. "Seeing a girl in real life for them is like me seeing my favorite fictional characters come to life. It's kinda magical." He looked across the table at her, then shook his head. "But living in your parents basement? It's not as shockingly weird as it sounds. I had to do it for a while. Didn't exactly have anywhere else to go." Being the non-college type with a limited amount of money coming in his way, Xander had to settle for spending his nights curled up next to a rumbling washing machine. "It wasn't the highest point of my life, but it gave me a roof to live under and stuff."

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stephaniebrown
2010-04-19 06:59 pm UTC (link)

Stephanie took another bite from her ice cream and gave Xander a nod. "Trust me, I know all about the merits of fast food. For one thing, my mom worked late, so I ate it a lot back in Gotham. Plus I've gotten good use from their dollar menus a couple times over the last few weeks, so it's safe to say I'm a fan of the burgers," she said with a grin. Granted, most of the burgers she'd gotten in Gotham were from one diner or another, but they had the occasional fast food place as well.

"Andrew, huh?" Stephanie asked, brow perked a bit as she thought back over the people she'd met here in town. "Wait, isn't he that really nerdy gay guy?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth Stephanie regretted them. Or, well, she regretted one of them. Hopefully he actually was as gay as he seemed, or that the guy wouldn't think that was some sort of insult, because she certainly didn't mean it that way. She was just trying to come up with a way to describe him, and that happened to be what came to mind first. "I've met him once, when I first got to the complex. But you're right, he really doesn't seem like the sort of guy that would be able to help stop the end of the world. But hey, people don't always turn out how you expect them to."

The comment about seeing his favorite characters come to life made Stephanie laugh some though. "Magical, huh?" Stephanie teased a bit, even wiggling the fingers of her free hand as she said it. "That actually kinda makes me hope I'm not one of your favorite so-called characters. Those shoes sound way too big for me to fill." And wasn't that the truth. She didn't really want people to have crazy high expectations of her, because Stephanie thought that would just lead to disappointment when she managed to screw something up again. Not that Stephanie was planning on screwing up. "And hey, nothing wrong with living in the basement when you're still young. But you don't seem like a guy in his thirties and still living in the basement. That's when it starts getting sketchy."

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