ArchivedLogs:Prioritizing

Prioritizing
Dramatis Personae Lucien, Steve
In Absentia	2016-08-24 "You take ice cream wherever and whenever you can get it."
Location <NYC> Midtown East
A dense, skyscraper packed neighborhood, Midtown is the busiest commercial district in the United States, and one of the busiest pieces of land in the world. Day and night, Midtown is filled with people going to and from work, enjoying the nightlife, and walking quickly through the streets. Very few live in Midtown proper - only the most wealthy and work-obsessed - but many who live in and around the City work here. In many ways, Midtown is the heart that beats in the city that never sleeps. There's a small crowd gathered outside the Imperial Theater. Chatting, smoking, waiting hopefully for a potential glimpse of one of the cast members of the show that's just let out. So far there have been no sightings, but in the pleasantly mild nighttime the milling people show little inclination to disperse. Even less so when the door opens again -- Lucien is not, admittedly, in the cast of this musical. Nevertheless he still elicits a few gasps, a couple excited people tugging at their companions, dragging them over for eager: "-- Oh my /god/ you're really --" "I loved you in /Pippin/!" "Can you sign this?" He hasn't even left the doorway, really, holding it open with a hip, his smile quick and easy as he plucks a Sharpie from the pocket of his pale grey twill pants, to sign with. It's only when he shifts away to let his companion out behind him that the gasps start spreading -- "Oh my /god/, is /that/ --" Lucien doesn't look up from his signing, but the corners of his lips twitch just a little more, amused. Steve slips out of the door in Lucien's wake, moving a little slower than his wont. He's in a sapphire blue pinpoint shirt and charcoal plain-front trousers, his shield slung across his back in all its classical patriotic glory. His eyes look just a bit puffy, but his smile is bright and ready for Lucien's fans and his own. "That was a /fantastic/ show. Glad I caught it before it ended." Then aside, quieter, "Merci." It takes a few minutes longer to disentangle them both from the cluster of fans -- the arrival of Eponine's actress helps clear the knot a good deal -- but soon enough Lucien is steering them away from the brightly lit theatre and down the street. "{It is something special, isn't it? It will be a loss when it is gone.}" Steve nods mutely, thumbs hooked through the straps of his shield harness the way some men brace against their suspender straps. "{It was...affecting.}" His eyes drop to the sidewalk. "{I was warned, but it's been a /really/ long time since I read the book.}" He chuckles dryly. "Remember it being kind of boring, to be honest." "{It does have a tendency to inspire feelings.}" Lucien's head tips downward, though his brilliant green eyes cant sidelong up toward Steve. "{Do you know,}" there's a faint hint of laughter in his voice, mild, mildly self-deprecating, "-- I have never read it." Steve turns and studies Lucien, the faint lingering redness in his eyes making his blue irises look bluer. There's a trace of amusement in them now. "{Really? That does surprise me. Not because you were in a production of the play so much as because you're...you.}" He rolls his shoulders in a shrug-like motion. "I can't say I recommend it very highly, but it /has/ been a long time since I read it." "It does rather seem like one of those books, non? And yet. It has been languishing on my shelf for years. {There are just,}" Lucien laments, "{so very /many/ books yet to read. How does one ever get through all of them?}" His shoulders settle, easy and casual, his thumbs hooking into his pockets as he looks back up at Steve. "I am glad I had a chance to bring you to that one. Next, perhaps..." Though he trails off, lips pursing briefly as he scans the restaurants and bars around them, also reasonably busy with post-show business. "{Well. Have you gotten a feel by now, for what you enjoy in modern theatre?}" "Well, there were fewer books back in my day," Steve allows, smiling. "Still more than I could read, as much time as I had for it as a boy. {We must prioritize, I'm afraid -- make some hard choices. Set some books aside, at least for a time.}" He puts his right hand over his heart and tosses his head back with an audible sigh. "{I'm not sure if I have. Every show I've seen since waking up has been splendid -- the stagecraft, the compositions, the execution...}" He gives a soft hum of consideration. "But I think the grandeur of shows with large companies is really what I love most." "Life is sometimes cruel." Lucien's acknowledgment sounds very heavy. "{I have certainly had to make some difficult choices in life, but --}" His head shakes as he turns down a quieter side street, stride settling into a more relaxed one as the crowds wane. "Grandeur. Mmm. There's one opening next month I think you'll rather enjoy, then." A brighter warmth lights his eyes with the addition: "{-- and perhaps by that time we'll be able to stop by /Evolve/ again for refreshments afterward.}" Steve gives a small nod, the corner of his mouth tightening briefly before he relaxes again. A beat later. "{Grand or no, I trust in your tastes -- you've not led me astray yet.}" His smile returns, guileless and maybe just a touch wistful. "You know, I never had a chance to visit Evolve while it was fully operational -- as a coffee shop, that is. I look forward to seeing it restored to its former glory." Arches one eyebrow. "Or /surpassing/ it, perhaps." "{Haven't I?}" There's a quiet chuckle in Lucien's voice -- though it's accompanied by a faint tightness creasing the corners of his eyes into brief crow's feet. "{Looking at the course of the past months, I imagine some would think otherwise.}" His brows lift, head canting slightly to one side. "Never? A shame. When he isn't revolutionizing athletics for the community, I am assured Shane does make an excellent cup of coffee. Ms. Carter's ice creams are a delight, as well. The games are looking to be quite a success, though. No doubt you will have a chance to visit soon enough. Still, until then --" He's pausing, now, at the door of a small brightly-lit storefront, the sign over the door reading 'Perche No?'. "-- We will have to indulge elsewhere." "{At the least, you've not led me anywhere I did not choose to go.}" Steve's voice is soft, only just barely remaining neutral. "Sometimes those choices end in tears, but...it was still a brilliant show, and I'd not have missed it for the world." He unhooks his thumbs from his harness straps, flexing his hands a touch restlessly. "I've had plenty of occasion to enjoy Shane's coffee, and I've heard endless praise for Evolve in the same breath as laments for its absence. But one of the things war has taught me..." He looks into the shop, eyes brightening as if to match the cheerful lights. "...is that you take ice cream wherever and whenever you can get it."