ArchivedLogs:Sorted Out

Sorted Out
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Tag	2013-08-19 A chat over tea, with medical advice.
Location <NYC> Tick-Tock - Greenwich Village
The quiet sound of soft music and softly running water greets the entrants to this tea house, playing from speakers hidden and trickling waterfalls cascading down the rocky fountains by the entryway. The ambiance here is subdued, a quiet escape from the bustle and noise of the city, focused on only one thing: tea. Tea of very good quality. They serve it in over eighty varieties, black and white, green and oolong, rooibos and herbals and mate, flavored and straight up. The seating here comes on cushions or kneeling chairs around low tables, the decorations in earth tones, and the knowledgeable wait staff is always helpful with a recommendation or a snack suggestion to pair with your drink. Behind the long counter along one side is an entire wall of bins of loose-leaf teas, available for purchase by weight. As the afternoon winds slowly into evening and New Yorkers stream out of the high-rise buildings of their workplaces and back to their high-rise homes, Greenwich Village begins to gain back many of its residents who are employed, and the streets are busy with people going to and fro, to home and then back out again into the larger city. Tick-Tock, however, remains as always a quiet oasis, hiding its occupants from the hustle and bustle of the larger city. The heavy door and the soft rumbling of the water and music combine to isolate almost all of the hum of noise that comes from outside from reaching the low tables of the tea shop. Iolaus, for his part, seems quite content sitting at one of Tick-Tock’s many tables, sitting down on one of the cushions and sipping at the still-steaming tea that mists over his face. Similarly - but seemingly much less comfortably - Alec is rather uncomfortably shifting back and forth in an attempt to find a position that is comfortable, messing up his slacks with creases and rumbles. A capital crime. Tag wanders in from the street like a lost soul looking for a haunt. A lost and /colorful/ soul. His hair is an improbable rainbow spiral, almost long enough to brush scrawny shoulders. He wears a lavender button-up shirt with kelly green stripes and cerulean blue cargo shorts; both look just a touch too large on him. He peers out from behind the curtain of hair, and, apparently not as aimless as he initially seemed, finds his way to a table already occupied. "Hey." Tag waves. "Sorry I'm late." “Hello, Tag.” Iolaus says, warmly. He doesn’t make any move to stand as the other man approaches, but he does reach across the table with one hand to extend it towards Tag. “How are you doing, today?” he asks, looking over the other man with a smile. “Don’t worry - I am quite content to sit here for hours, considering their tea selection.” Playfulness is bright in the doctor’s voice. Alec, for his part, gives Tag a momentarily curious look, then glances around them at the restaurant as a whole. Some of the odd looks that Tag is getting from the other shop patrons almost instantly turns to boredom as they turn back to their tea, or even idly staring off into space. Tag hesitates, then accepts the proffered hand with a smile, sudden and bright. “I’m okay. Just went back to work and all. There are some wacky looking baked goods at Happy Cakes.” He sits down. “Wackier than usual, I mean.” Dark brown eyes flick between Io and Alex. “How are you?” “Busy. Crazy busy, with all that’s going on. Harlem isn’t exactly making things easier for us, with attitudes as they are, but we’re doing our best. Hope to open in the next couple of months.” Iolaus says, brightly. “At least my teaching is over for the season. I don’t think I’d be able to teach and do the work that I’m doing now, nevertheless with research on top.” A bright laugh, and Iolaus takes a long sip of his tea before he continues. “But, still, I wouldn’t be happy any other way.” A long pause, and he studies the colorful man for a second before he asks, “What can I do for you, Tag? Or are we just catching up?” “Wow, /already?/” Tag braces an elbow on the table and props his chin on the heel of his hand. “I mean...that is impressive speed. I don’t think I could deal with being as industrious as you are. Not without...help.” He winces slightly. “Uh...anyway, I /was/ hoping to catch up, but I also think I probably need your professional opinion on something.” Then, glancing around. “Not /here/, obviously.” “Of course. We should catch up now - and we can talk about it in private as well, later, but…” Iolaus glances at Alec next to him and then looks back at Tag. “In all honesty, we may as well be in private now. No matter what we say or do, at this point, no one is going to be the least bit interested.” Perhaps as demonstration, Iolaus turns around and - with a slight Boston accent trimming the edges of his words - yells, “Hey, fuckheads!” Alec is the only person to give Iolaus an annoyed look. Tag blinks and stares around the tea shop. “That is /amazing!/ But...yeah, I dunno if...nevermind, it’s kind of a long story. You’re just the only doctor I know who doesn’t scare me right now. Which maybe doesn’t say a lot on account of I don’t know many doctors.” He sighs, but breaks into a smile again. “More importantly, though, I wanted to congratulate you, about the clinic. ‘Cuz it’s really important, and I’m glad you’re doing it. I’m glad /someone/ is. So. Thank you.” “Thank you, Tag. I look forward to when we open for real, instead of just talking about it a lot. We seem to be doing more and more of that, lately, which is nice in its own way.” Iolaus chuckles and gives Tag a light wink. “I just hope I haven’t forgotten my medical training, I’ve been a business person so long.” His voice is teasing and gentle, and the doctor looks over Tag’s face for a moment. “I don’t mind long stories.” Tag cocks his head slightly. “Well...it might be hard to believe, but I was pre-med once upon a time! I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to help people. Honestly, I /could/ have stayed...but that wasn’t my path. Wasn’t my way of helping people. As it turns out, my way is a bit more colorful and less /immediately/ useful.” He grins, but the grin fades quickly. “Well, anyway, I went on the road and didn’t really pay much attention to /medical/ stuff. There are times when I probably should have. But I have a sorta unusual condition, and also, people tell awful stories about doctors and...mutants, you know.” “I could believe it.” Iolaus says, firmly, as he looks over Tag. “And colorfulness is useful in its own right - much of the work of a doctor is similarly worthwhile only in the long term.” He shakes his head and waves a hand once, picking up his tea and sipping at it again. “Not all doctors are particularly friendly to mutants, no, but I know several who are. What sort of condition?” “I’m lucky enough to have a choice in whether I’m obviously a mutant or not,” Tag says, flicking a red tress of his hair. It turns vivid pink all the way up to the roots. “I mean, I /could/ look as colorful or uncolorful as I like. And I could also /not/ go around turning stuff funny colors in front of people.” This with a slightly embarrassed smile. “I’m also lucky in that I usually have a choice in whether I’m obviously transgender or not.” Iolaus pauses for a second, then he nods, face not changing at all at this admission. “Obviously, anyway. Not so much of a choice as to the real thing.” He nods, once. “Alright. Well, what pronouns should I be using?” he asks, tilting his head to one side. “And I assume that is what you are looking for help with?” “‘He’, and thanks for asking.” Tag’s shoulders relax just a fraction, else it would have been hard to tell they were tensed to begin with. “For the longest time it’s been like...this shameful secret. Then I woke up one day and realized...” He pauses and lays both arms down on the table in front of him. “Okay, that’s not actually how I realized it, but anyway I’m done with worrying about whether I’m a ‘real’ boy. But my /body/ isn’t, and you’re right, that’s where I need help.” Now he ducks his head and allows a faint, sheepish smile. “I’ve /been/ on testosterone for years, on and off...just not exactly under medical advisement. I know that’s not your field, but maybe you could point me at someone you trust. And who works on a sliding scale, because I sure as hell don’t have insurance.” Iolaus contemplates for a moment, frowning down at the table. Almost unconsciously, he picks up his tea and takes a long sip of it. “Well, on and off isn’t great for you, and it really is the sort of thing you want to be followed somewhat closely for.” Iolaus says, looking back over at Tag. “It can be somewhat dangerous for you to take it without regular blood tests.” Iolaus glances over at Alec then back to Tag. “I think I might know someone who can help, in terms of working on a sliding scale. They’re not an LGBT specialist, though, and I’m not sure if they’ve ever monitored a gender transition before. I will ask around. Worst comes to worst, I can put them in touch with some people from my medical school days who can probably help guide them.” "Yeah, I realize it's not the healthiest thing to do." Tag drums his fingers on the table quietly. With each tap, the nail of the finger that makes contact changes colors. "But I've been doing a lot of things that are not too great for my health. Just trying to change what I can, now. Feels weird, doing that when the whole world seems to be catching on fire." When he smiles, however, the expression is unreserved. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. I should just go to Common Ground, I mean, they're good people, but...fear is not rational." He waves a hand in the air as though his colorful nails could ward away aforementioned fear. "It's one thing to go in for free STI screening or whatever, but this sort of thing makes you feel a lot more vulnerable." Tag sits up a little straighter, as though a weight had been lifted from him. "You know, I wish there were some way for me to contribute. The clinic, I mean. I don't really have any /professional/ type skills, but I /do/ have a lot of energy and free time." He snickered. "Maybe if you ever want a mural or something? Actually...I could even just paint walls /regular/ colors." With finger-quotes, the word 'regular' sounds like a euphemism for 'boring'. "I got real good at covering large areas recently, and I'm cheaper than actual paint." Iolaus laughs and he smiles up at Tag. “I’m sure there will be plenty of room for volunteer help of all sorts. Most of it, I’m sure, won’t be all that glamorous work. Helping to stuff envelopes, do outreach… maybe even cleaning. We’re still trying to figure all that out over the next few months, but I personally suspect we won’t know what we actually /need/ until we’re in the thick of it,” The doctor says, with a warm laugh. “There will be something. Maybe even painting!” “I can stuff envelopes!” Tag exclaims, with entirely more enthusiasm than seems reasonable. “Probably even clean, too.” He sounds considerably less certain about the latter. “I don’t have a very good history with that, but I’m actually learning to do it better. I mean...I /know/ chores can’t always be fun.” Then, a faint smile. “But a boy can hope, right? Anyway, what I mean is...I tend to be crap at actually holding down jobs with regular hours, so if you need volunteers, I’m pretty much always available. Can’t vandalize /all/ the time.” "We'll see. Always want to make sure people are enjoying what they are doing... and we need to make sure that we can keep our volunteers safe, too." Iolaus smiles, eyes mischievously. Perhaps he noticed the other man's unsureness as to cleaning. "And while I'm sure not every position will be fun all the time, it shouldn't be a chore." Tag nods. “I get what you mean. But...I sincerely want to be of use--fun or no. Danger or no, for that matter. A lot of people have been saving me from myself, /and/ from others. People who had no reason to care, but who risked a lot for me. I just want to give back and...what’s it called, pay it forward, I guess.” He shrugs, hair falling across face again. “I shouldn’t keep you so long. I was late already, and you have so much to do.” So saying, he scoots his chair back and half-rises, as if still uncertain about his surroundings after all this. "I suspect if you asked, most of those people would tell you that no payment is expected or needed," Iolaus says, smile lilting on one side. He studies the other man as he stands and nods once, seemingly as much to himself as to Tag. "Alright. I'll talk to my contact at Common Ground and see if there is someone there who can follow you for that treatment. If there is, I'll give you a call. Sometime in the next couple of days, I think." Noise it is Iolaus's turn to stands, extending his hand out towards his more colorful companion. "I'm sure I'll be able to find someone to help." “Why’d you think I haven’t asked /them/?” Tag grins. “Truth is, I couldn’t pay them back even if I tried, even if they let me. There’s no price tag on love.” He takes Iolaus’s hand and grips it firmly. “I’ll see you around, ‘kay?” “See you around, Tag.” Iolaus says, brightly, squeezing the other man’s hand. It is a firm grip returned, briefly, before it drops to his side. The doctor sits back down next to his companion, glancing at Alec for only a moment before he picks up his tea once more.