ArchivedLogs:Caffeine Kisses

Caffeine Kisses
Dramatis Personae B, Dusk, Hive, Jax, Melinda, Micah, Shane, Joshua, Tola
In Absentia	2014-05-28 '
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to plentiful artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. At night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits over the coffeehouse, accessible through a stairway in the back of the cafe. Look at Evolve, all /shiny/ and /new/ today, gleaming untouched machinery, brand new unscuffed furniture, walls freshly painted, floors freshly polished. At least everything /was/ shiny-new-untouched an hour or two ago before the party started. The coffeeshop is bustling, now, though /officially/ it has not actually /opened/ -- you wouldn't really be able to tell from the crowd that's gathered tonight. There's music thumping through the sound system -- at the moment it's MSI's "Faggot" -- and kind of a /large/ turnout of assorted freaks (of the mutant and non-mutant variety; schoolfriends and anarchist friends and people picked up from Jax's many eclectic walks of life) milling through both the coffeeshop and the club upstairs. Shane is behind the counter, at the moment. Sliding a freshly made caramel latte across to Desirée, dressed neat in mandarin-collared black button-down embroidered in silver vines and dark slacks. His smile is, at the moment, /very/ bright. Jax's smile is /also/ bright. It matches the rest of him -- glittery silver and purple makeup, bright purple eyepatch with a silver star in its center, dark capris embroidered with dragonflies, a sleeveless purple top dotted with metal studs. /Totally/ more colourful than the terrible /brown/-edged robe he'd had earlier (which, admittedly, had gone through quite a bit of beadazzling before Jax actually walked across the stage.) He's toying with his wallet chain as he bounces up towards the counter, flashing a quick smile to Desi and leaning his elbows against the surface to beam across at Shane. "Can I jus' ask y'to make me somethin' /amazin'/? Is that on the menu, how much's it gonna cost me?" In an attempt to make up for Jax's complaints of lack of adequate /colour/ today, Micah is in one of his rather small collection of dress shirts, this one a rich aubergine and worn over black slacks. It looks like his hair was straightened out not /too/ many hours ago. His hands fall easily onto his husband's shoulders as he stands behind him. "Pretty sure there's a lotta amazin' on the menu, so the cost's gonna depend /which/ amazin' they give you." He chews on his lip as he glances over the menu. "I think I'm gonna go for a chai latte, soy. Little bit predictable...I only ever get about three dif'rent drinks in coffee shops. S'likely t'be amazin' anyhow." Hive isn't anywhere near the counter -- but, admittedly, when has /that/ ever stopped him. Flicker has /deposited/ him in an armchair in the back before blipping off to dance upstairs. He's curled into his chair in his brown painted-blue hedgehog tee and baggy jeans, eyes closed and posture drooped like he's been /sleeping/. But evidently he's not because it's from here that he weighs in on Evolve's menu, gruff voice /thudding/ into the others' minds. << You really want to ask /Shane/ what price he wants off you, that's just opening yourself /up/ for terrible, dude. >> Shane's grin stretches wiiider when his dads approach, and he leans up against the counter, hands splayed on its surface. "You seriously think you're paying for drinks at your /own/ fucking graduation party, dude?" His brows hike up, a little bit more crooked of a twitch to his smile. "I mean, if you /wanna/, I'll --" There's something /far/ more prurient flashing through his mind involving quite a /bit/ less clothing on Jax but this thuds away with Hive's interjection. Telepathy means that his subsequent innocent look doesn't /really/ hold much water. "I'm not /that/ terrible, am I?" He turns huge-wide eyes on his dads in questioning. "-- I'll accept kisses, though. In exchange for amazing." Off towards the back, B is flitting down the stairs from the club up above, dressed colorful-bright as well in sunshiney-yellow and embroidered-white ao dai. A little flushed from dancing, a little out of breath, ze darts over behind the counter, slinging an arm around hir twin's waist as ze answers cheerfully: "You were hitting on Ba's /dad/ this weekend, you're /pretty/ terrible." Jax flushes dark, leaning back happily into Micah's touch. His head falls backwards, briefly resting against his husband's shoulder. "Ohgosh," he answers Shane with a flustered flap of hand, scrunching up his face in an expression contorted /somewhere/ between grimace and trying desperately not to laugh at the vacation-memory. "Y'ain't terrible, honey-honey, y'jus' -- maybe don't /always/ got the best ideas on /appropriate/." He lifts his hand, rubbing against his temple; there's a heavy thud of headache pounding there that isn't made /better/ by Hive's heavy-handed voice. "You want somethin', grumpyface?" He straightens to shift up away from Micah, leaning over the counter as well to peck Shane lightly on one cheek and then the other. "Y'can have /all/ the kisses. I got those in /spades/." Micah pulls a bit of a face at the conversation—mental and verbal—going on regarding Shane's appropriateness. Fortunately, he lacks the ability to access the boy's /thoughts/, as well. "Not terrible, just--" he stops mid-sentence to wave at Jax, seconding what he said. "An' there's plenty of kisses. Surplus of kisses...might be devaluin' at this point." As if to prove the comment, he places a light kiss on each of the twins' cheeks for good measure. Over in his chair, Hive /snorts/ at Shane's mental imagery, actually lifting a hand to press it against his face. << Yeeeah. Not terrible. >> His brows furrow at the headache from Jax, and with Flicker upstairs he picks up his /cane/ and commandeers Joshua as he passes by to help him over towards the counter. "Y'alright?" is an offhand murmur to Jax; he leans up heavily against Joshua's side as he frowns towards the menu. "Why are you even looking at the damn menu, dude." Joshua's brows are raising. "You're getting a black coffee." Hive snorts. "I'm getting a black coffee." "Have I mentioned --" Joshua is starting, turning a /smile/ on Jax where he had a frown for Hive. Though this soon turns to a frown, too. He tightens his arm a little bit around Hive, his smile soon returning, "-- Uh. Right. I mean to say /congratulations/, man." "Those kisses on /tap/?" His glance towards Jax is a little shyer than it might otherwise be, as Dusk slips in kind of late to the party. He's in dark jeans, dark green v-neck t-shirt, Vans sneakers, wings folded down against his back. A little bit of a nervous-edgy look in the crowd, shying away from strangers, beelining towards the familiar faces at the counter. Tentatively one wing reaches towards Jax, but pulls back short of actually touching the other man. "-- Definitely, like. A /world/ of congratulations." He squints an eye towards Joshua, head tilting slightly. "/You/ alright?" "... what, his dad is great." Shane is /maybe/ glancing across the cafe, now, at /Jax's/ dad, looking just a little awkwardly out of place in all his Southern-gentleman formality among the freak crowd. His gills flutter happily at the kisses, though, eyes briefly squeezing shut. He returns the kisses, a peck to each of his fathers' cheeks and one blown Dusk and Hive's way each for good measure before he turns aside to start preparing drinks. B leans up against the bar, propping a chin in hir hand and tipping a glance up at the others on its other side. "You can't devalue kisses. There's never a shortage of /demand/." Hir eyes skip over Dusk with a blossom of concern in hir thoughts, fingers curling in against hir cheek, but ze looks back to hir pa soon enough. "... so what're you going to do with all your /free time/ now?" This time it's /Jax's/ thoughts that immediately slip to the prurient; his hand lifts to brush fingers against Micah's, his /instinctive/ answer to this question in his mind heavily featuring his husband and distinctly not featuring clothing. His cheeks flush deep crimson, his lips curling up into a smile. "Oh, gosh, I don't know. Sleep more? Paint things I actually want t'paint? Have more time t'ink folks?" He shakes his head, and where Dusk stops short of touching he completes the motion, reaching out to brush his hand against the fuzzy sail of wing. "Hey, honey-honey. Glad y'made it. An' thanks, all'a you -- An' oh /gosh/ can we jus' not hit on /any/ dads?" His hand has left Dusk's wing to /facepalm/. Micah chuckles at Hive's eventual order. "'Least I'm not the only predictable one." The corner of his lips tugs upwards in a lopsided grin. He fills in for Jax's headshake, answering Dusk's question as if it were posed to him. "For you? Always." Lifting up onto his tiptoes slightly, he delivers yet another kiss, this time to Dusk's cheek. "Oh, good thing then. I give 'em out a lot. No good t'be givin' folks worthless kisses." Another almost-laugh answers Shane's assessment of his father. "Glad y'all got on with 'im okay. Think your bein' able to out-fish 'im did some good in that department." He blinks repeatedly at Jax. "Whoa. I am holdin' y'to that whole sleep thing. It'll be nice just not havin' t'rush about /quite/ so much as usual." "/Strong/ black coffee," Hive clarifies with a sharp slice of smile towards Joshua, just a little sharper at Jax's mental imagery. Joshua shakes his head. Then nods. "No, yeah, I'm. Yeah. Good. You all just." A smile tugs up at his mouth. "/Huh/." "How long you had that headache?" Hive asks Jax curiously. "Does not hitting on any dads include /you/?" Joshua raises an eyebrow. "Because you'd be cutting off a lot of prospects with that /we/." Dusk lifts his wing again stiffly, rubbing it against Jax's hand and then curling it with a somewhat unsteady motion against Micah's back. A small flush creeps into his cheeks at the kiss, a smile curling onto his face. "... yeah I'm. Pretty guilty of hitting on dads. /And/ increasing the demand for kisses. -- Does that mean you finally met the parents? How did it /go/. Was Shane horrible?" He lifts his chin at Joshua, curious. "We what." "Why does /everyone/ think I'm horrible," Shane grumbles. "Because you're horrible," B answers easily. Shane's gills ripple quickly in response to this, a small /huff/ exhaled. "And we can out-fish most people." B has /just/ a little bit of pride with this statement. Shane turns back around with a pair of drinks -- coconut-almond (almond milk) mocha for Jax, a soy chai latte for Micah. His finger taps at his cheek /indicatively/ as he deposits the drinks. Pay up. /Again/. Like they totally haven't already paid him. "I'm sure you guys can hit on /all/ the dads," B adds seriously. "Shane just is cut off." Jax's blush only deepens, his hands both lifting to cover his face. "I been sleepin' /so much/ lately," he answers Micah, since this is easiest. "Kinda need to when I can't --" His hand circles by his head, signing SUN with a small shrug. He bounces happily on his toes, leaning in to cheerfully deposit /three/ kisses on Shane's cheek when his drink comes. "Shane was delightful," he tells Dusk. "/Vacation/ was delightful. Micah's family was delightful. /Meetin'/ them was delightful. I -- always have a headache an' -- yes Shane is cut off from hittin' on dads for ever." "He's kinda full of headache," Micah confirms. "An' not hittin' on dads includes us, but the edict is only in place for Shane. Though he's /not/ horrible. Just got...a unique take on social boundaries that don't agree with most everyone ever." Stretching over the counter again, he provides yet another kiss to Shane's cheek, where indicated. Apparently it's kisses on demand today. He leans back (gently) into Dusk's wing when it finds his back. "Sleep is good. Your brain needed /so/ much sleep. Glad you're finally gettin' some." "But have you been full of headache since the raid," Hive starts, "because --" "-- you're all feeling like freaks to me again," Joshua explains with a crooked smile. "And you weren't before. -- /oh/ shit hey! Rachel!" He deposits Hive against the counter with a squeeze of shoulder, slipping off across the room to go greet the nurse. "... 'round you, isn't Jax always getting some?" Hive props his elbows against the counter, eyes slipping mostly closed. "Wait, feeling like --" Dusk's smile brightens, just a little, at this comment from Joshua, but with Joshua running off already he looks to Hive to confirm it -- identifying mutants? Powers returning? Maybe Jax's headaches mean his are, too? His wing curls tighter around Micah, squeezing in a small hug, teeth sinking down against his lip with that last comment. "Forever's a long time. Eventually even his generation's going to breed." Usually a perpetual early bird, Melinda comes wandering in a bit late, looking a little bit lumpy and maybe slightly harried. Her hair has been braided, the tail pinned against the back of her head in several places, keeping it off the back of her neck for the most part. She is also wearing makeup for the first time in a long time. She slips out of a black jacket and hangs it over the diaper bag on one shoulder. The other shoulder holds her purse. Her entire front is taken up by a maroon wrap that ties a small child to her front, showing only glimpses vibrant, jewel toned blue shirt underneath. She's wearing a delightfully swishy skirt in a marine green color, with black leggings to keep potential chill off. It's warmer than yesterday, but she still feels the need to 'be prepared.' 'Prepared' is her new obsession. Her mind runs through everything that she's brought in the diaper bag, for Tola, but she is not entirely sure she's ready. Still - as she is here now, she's just going to have to play it by ear. She glances around the coffee shop portion of Evolve to take in who is already here, attention drifting upstairs as she sucks on a lip lightly, teeth clamping down on it at the sight of the twins behind the counter. Still, she continues forward, steps aimed at Jax, a congratulations already forming on the tip of her tongue. "We /are/ all freaks." Shane grins bright at the kisses, bouncing aside to grab Hive his coffee -- /triple/ espresso. "I think he means he can /tell/ we're freaks. Like. /Magically/." B makes wiggly fingers towards Joshua's departing back. /Maybe/ this signifies mutation. Shane /snorts/ at Hive's addendum, but he's kept from adding anything inappropriate by the significance of this settling in. "Wait holy shit. For real?" He turns aside from his coffeemaking, bouncing on the balls of his toes. His eyes open wider as he catches sight of Mel entering, though his smile doesn't dim. His gills flutter quick. "-- Hey, Mel." B is cheerful, anyway, moving to the register to ring Hive up. /He/ apparently doesn't get away with kisses-as-payment. Shane turns back to set Hive's coffee down on the bar. His chin tips up to Mel, eyes flitting down to Tola. "You want a coffee?" "No, they gone away for a while," Jax affirms with a small furrow of his brow, a spark of hope blossoming in his mind. "I mean, before we figured out the insulin -- sugar -- thing. It was bad but then it cleared up an' then the past couple days it been bad again but --" He shakes his head, scooping his drink up off the counter with a brighter smile. "But it's been. Been comin' back jus'. Jus' now. Huh." He looks after Joshua curiously. << -- maybemaybemaybe. >> He leans in against Micah's side, head tilting to nuzzle his cheek up against Dusk's wing. Until he straightens, glancing back towards Melinda and Tola with a huger smile. "Mel! Tola! /Hi/! Ohgosh!" He detaches himself from Dusk and his husband to set the hot coffee down so that he can bounce over to peck the little one on what can be seen of the top of the head and snake an arm around Mel for a squeeze of side-hug. "How y'doin', honey-honey?" "Maybe the edict can be removed when he turns eighteen," Micah suggests with a hint of laughter in his words. He moves in a little closer to Hive in case he requires assistance now that Joshua has headed off. Just in time to turn bright red from the telepath's commentary. "Not /always/. Kinda have t'be out in public sometimes, at least." He tilts his head, bird-like, in curiosity at the powers discussion. "Y'think things are goin' back t'normal for you, hon? Prob'ly should test the heck outta your blood sugar in that case. Could be your insulin dosages are off if your system's changin' again. Could make y'feel funny." Mel gets a bright smile and wave as she enters, but Micah doesn't leave his post near Hive. "Hi, Mel!" "Yeah. People in here have been pinging him like fucking crazy. Maybe that shit's wearing off." Hive grabs his coffee off the counter, sliding a ten over to B and not actually waiting long enough to get his change. "Eighteen isn't /too/ far off. World better watch the fuck out." His mind presses up against Melinda's in greeting, a familiar squeeze as he grabs his cane in his other hand. He shakes his head in answer to Micah's implied offer of help, slowly making his way back over towards his armchair in the back to drop back down into it. Slump. Dusk's wing rubs gently back up against Jax's cheek, gentle though more tentative still with Jax than he's been with Micah. He turns, giving Mel a small smile -- his breath catches at the smallthing in her sling. "Oh. /Oh/. That's her." He doesn't come closer, though, uncertain and hesitant to get close to the small creature held close to Mel's chest. His wing folds in close to his back, his arms crossing against his chest as if in silent /reminder/ to himself (no touching.) "-- Hey, Mel." It's quiet. But warm. Melinda's eyes flutter close when Jax comes over for a greeting, a smile tugging at her lips as she leans against his side. "Hey you. Congratulations on finishing school. I hope the parties are celebrating your hard work properly." Her mind presses against Hive's greeting, but lets him skulk away in peace, only a quick glance following his progress. She then turns back to the group, nodding to Micah as she starts setting things down at the nearest table. "Hey, Micah, B." The two get a quick and easy greeting, while Shane's comes with a slight reddening of her cheeks. "Hey, Shane. Small one, black, please. Thank you." Once her bags are down, she starts untucking and unwrapping the cloth that holds Tola to her, letting her limbs start to spring free. Underneath the maroon, she is wearing light and dark green striped pants with built in footies, with a ruffly bottomed, short sleeved blue shirt. She's away and flaily, ready to move a little more. "Oh, Dusk. You haven't seen her yet, have you?" Mel looks up at his greeting, studying him for a moment. "Do you... want to?" "Uh-oh. I made you a mocha are you gonna /die/." Shane's eyes open wide. /Shocked/. B's lips twitch, just a little. "Uh-huh. You've killed him. /But/. At least he dies a college graduate." Shane turns aside to start prepping Mel's drink, gills still fluttering. "She's a very /pretty/ flower," he acknowledges finally. "And we have been partying the hell out of him. All day long. One after the other." "D'you know we even took a /vacation/?" B says this like it's a /staggering/ feat. /Wide/-eyed. "We met Ba's family." "They're kind of like Pa's family," Shane says, waving a hand across the room towards Jax's very out-of-their-depth parents trying desperately to keep track of Spence, "but younger." "There's a Southern factory somewhere," B adds. "Churns them out." "Hiiiiiiiiii." Jax chirrups again, squeezing Mel closer and adding a peck to /her/ cheek before he rubs his finger against Tola's. "Oh gosh /thank/ you feels like s'been a million years oh! She's squirmy can I steal her?" He giggles at the twins' comments, glancing over towards his parents, too, with a small blush. "Our dads is kinda cut from a /mold/ at least ain't they?" His nose wrinkles up at the talk of dying. "I ain't /hardly/. But I should check shouldn't I. Check in with Io too. Maybe things /will/ be normal again. Be a good time for it. New /home/ get -- settled in. Back to -- /life/. Mel there's dancin' upstairs d'you dance?" Micah gives Hive's free arm a light squeeze as he passes; the offer of any further assistance that might be wanted or needed is silent. "Isn't she precious?" he responds to Dusk, pressing in a little closer to him and petting at a wing idly. "An' nobody's gonna die. But /maybe/ we should test your levels 'fore y'drink much of it." B's tone earns a smile that is a mix of amused and sheepish. "Whole weekend, finally headed off. S'been awhile. An' yeah, that's kinda what I said when I met 'is dad. Little older an' a lot more Catholic, but otherwise it's the same cloth." He snuggles in against soft-wing a little more. "That sounds about perfect. D'be nice if everythin' just...settled that way for a bit." "I haven't. Met her, no. She's beautiful." Dusk's arms stay firmly around his chest, but he does crane his neck a little closer, staying tucked in behind Micah's shoulder as he peers at Tola. Then longer, at Mel, studying her face intently. "I've missed..." He drops his eyes to the ground, a small shiver running through him. His smile curls back, crooked and a little amused. "Shit. A vacation /and/ he's been sleeping. Did he do both at once? Because I didn't /notice/ the world ending." "Of course you can steal her for a little while. Let me know if she starts getting fussy. We'll suss out what she needs." Melinda hands the squirming flower over to Jax, making sure that she is secure in his arms and her head is supported before pulling her hands away. "I have danced, but it's been a long, baby-filled while." She draws in a soft breath, adding a small rush of air to her reluctance to be free of her burden, but the feeling evaporates when she straightens her spine and rolls her neck. Her gaze catches on Shane, acknowledging his comment with a small smile, before getting caught up in the vacation mirth. "Oh goodness. Sounds like you've been spoiled rotten, luxurious time off with family." Once she puts down the wrap with her other things, she moves over to Dusk's side to study him. "You're looking better." "Better than hobbled and eyeless, not a high bar." Shane sets Mel's small coffee down on the bar, crossing his arms atop it and leaning against its surface. B wrinkles hir nose at this reminder. "He does have snuggly wings," ze says softly, kind of slow and distracted about ringing Mel up, though admittedly more because ze's watching the Tola-transfer than because of watching Dusk's wings. "Pa's a good dancer. You should dance." "When are you moving in?" Shane wants to know. "Hive says the new place is kind of. Move-in-able." "But we can't till /next/ next week 'cuz exam week's coming up. Bad time for it." B scowls slightly at this. "/I'd/ do it anyway but B won't let me," Shane adds with a crooked grin. Jax takes Tola against his chest, lifted up high enough so she can see over his shoulder with his arm resting up against her back so his hand supports her head securely. "Well. I'll hafta take y'up there, then. In a bit. After some caffeine. Tola won't mind a few minutes with Hive, m'sure?" He wrinkles his nose at the thought of the /world/ ending with vacation. "... we've had vacations before." Usually after some crisis. Shane's comment about Dusk doesn't /help/ the wrinkle of his nose. He turns a little bit so that Dusk can see Tola better. "She's gonna fit in good in the new place. -- Oh gosh. When /are/ we movin' in honey-honey I got no idea is it soon can it be soon?" There's sudden excitement in his voice as he looks to Micah. "He did sleep while the vacation was happenin', as a matter of fact," Micah answers Dusk. "An' no world endin'. There was just this...holiday weekend sittin' right in between his show an' graduation. Askin' t'be vacationed in. We been meanin' t'visit m'folks for...about /ever/, too." He hms thoughtfully at Jax's question. "Um... Prob'ly a weekend'd be easiest for gettin' 'round work, but it ain't like we exactly got a lotta /stuff/ t'move. Should be relatively easy, provided y'don't mind not havin' furniture or anythin'. Might could be we need t'do some shoppin'. At least t'have a functional kitchen." Micah shrugs at this, shifting so that he can interact with the baby better. "An' I don't think there's any lack of people as'll hold 'er for y'all if you're both gonna go off." "I'm --" Dusk stops short of actually answering this, wings just shifting uncomfortably again at the commentary on how he's looking. He frowns uncertainly, finally shrugging a wing and giving Mel another smile. "I'm already sleeping there tonight," he admits. "Kinda don't have a lot of other place to --" His head shakes again. He looks down at Tola again, arms uncrossing but immediately re-crossing around his chest tightly once more. "Oh --" His voice has dropped soft. "I don't think there's going to be any lack of people who'll look after her. Just --" His smile is a little wider, even if it's kind of shaky. "I think she'll be. Good."