2019-10-12 - Falling For You

It's a Saturday. It's in the early afternoon. But it's not too early for a beer, right? Gabriel doesn't think so, because he has sat himself at the bar and seems to be tapping out texts or emails or something on his phone with a pilsner in front of him. He looks up occasionally, but is largely engrossed in the work. He's got some jeans and a Target special polo shirt on, an unremarkable red color.

Kass can be seen wandering out from the back of the bar, a mixture of frustration and dejection on her face as she thanks the overweight man that's leering at her openly while at the same time telling her they've got no openings. The redhead is clothed in a black lightweight summer sweater that seems like it was once oversized but its owner has outgrown it, leaving it riding a bit high on the stomach and the sleeves pushed up above the elbow to hide that they don't quite reach the wrist anymore; a pair of darkwash skinny jeans that also seem on the verge of being deemed 'too small', looking more like those new 'jeggings' than actual jeans; then there's the Chuck Taylor's. This pair is iridescent vinyl, laces untied and flopping about here and there, threatening to trip the young woman. And finally, a messenger bag that seems to rattle and clang slightly with its contents. She tucks a lock of hair behind one ear and starts to head around the bar, not really paying attention to where she's going... and that's how accidents happen. She steps on a lace, stumble a few steps forward before her fall is broken... by Gabriel. Poor guy. The pilsner and the phone may be unintentionally mixing soon, if he's not careful.

Thankfully, Gabe thinks fast. And he is able to both shove the phone out of the splash zone and grab Kass and keep her upright. But he can only two of the three things. The pilser is the casualty and goes over onto the bar, stretching out in long, sticky tendrils. He'll leave that for the pissed-looking bartender that is already coming over with a rag.

"Hey there, easy," says the cop, as he puts an arm around Kass, trying to keep her from hitting the floor. "You all right? Got to look where you're going." It's a very light reproach, more just what pops out as he is slightly flustered by the literal run in.

Kass seems more startled by the collision than Gabriel, staring up at him wide-eyed and almost fearful. "I'm sorry! I just.. oh, uh.. yeah. No, I just... I forget sometimes.. to tie my shoes. I'm so sorry! I can pay for that. I didn't hurt anything, did I?" She darts a look around as if trying to ascertain nothing is broken even as she goes oddly limp in his grasp. Like she's used to being 'manhandled' in a.. less than pleasant way. When it doesn't seem that anything actually broke, Kass lets out a small sigh and carefully puts herself to rights, taking a step back from Gabriel to give him (and herself) some personal space back. "I'm fine. It never hurts me.. just... embarrassing. Thank you. And.. uh, sorry. For you know, running into you. Literally."

"Hey, hey, chica. It's cool. You're fine. It's just a beer. The special, even." When you've been a cop as long as Gabe has, you've dealt with your share of head cases. But he has a trick better than just a calming voice. He focuses for a moment, sending a wave of calm to her, to replace the freak out that is starting to build. And though he handles her in a manly way, it's professional, standing her up and letting her brush herself off.

He then gestures over to the bar. "Can I buy you a beer? You look like you need it after the day you've been having so far."

Her breathing slows, calming. The almost panicked look fading from her eyes as she gives a small nod. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay. I'm okay." She is now at least. For now. Kass lets out a sigh and lets her hands drop from the strap of her messenger bag. "Sorry. Its been.. a rough couple days. I just... guess I lost it a little. But nothing bad happened, so its okay." Like she's convincing herself. The offer of a beer has her head lifting, looking at him in surprise. Her mouth opens to spout out her usual line, then she pauses, looking like she's doing some mental math. It takes a few moments before she looks back to him and nods. "Okay. Yeah, I should be okay. Um, whatever's cheap, though. I'm not fancy or anything."

"I can get two more of those?" Gabe asks the bartender, waving that the remnants of his beer that is all across the bar and has now been wiped up by that rag. "Put it on my tab." That order taken care of, he looks back at Kass.

"Rough week, huh?" he asks, echoing back her words. "Well, you're cheap date, so that's one plus you've got going for you. You want to talk about it, though?" He holds out a hand. "I'm Gabe."

"Sure, that's fine. Should be weak enough it won't interfere..." Kass lets that cryptic statement hang, turning to pull out a stool so she can climb up onto it, hooking the toes of her sneakers into the lowest rungs and leaning over the bar. Glancing back towards Gabe she offers, "Huh? Oh. Uh, Kass. Kassandra Hughes. Yeah, you could say that. I just got back.. from a long time away. Parents don't really want me around, so I'm trying to get a job so I can move into somewhere else." Anywhere else. She looks at his hand, then him, reaching out slowly to take the offered hand and give it a shake. "I guess.. I guess I'm just. Disappointed. I got home and its like they weren't even expecting me. I got nothing. They'd had all my stuff packed away and up in the attic, but all my clothes are like... ten years old. I guess I should just be glad they didn't throw it all out, right? They even kept all my Chuck Taylor's... those still fit fine at least."

Gabriel furrows his brow a little bit when Kass speaks of interference, asking, "Meds?" It's just taking a guess. What else could it be, right? But he nods thoughtfully at her tale of woe from returning home. "That's hard. You go away, you assume that they're actively waiting for you, you know? Rough to see that they wrote you off." He is empathetic. Detectives are good listeners.

"There are probably some thrift stores you could go to to see about getting new stuff."

"Still need money for that. So. Job. First job. Then clothes. Then place. I just. Gotta get the job first." Kass reports quietly, lifting a shrug. She glances sidelong to Gabriel at his guess, watching for a moment before giving a small nod. Meds. Staring down at the bar, she picks at a small crack in the layers of varnish and murmurs, "I shouldn't've been surprised. They're the ones that sent me away in the first place. Dunno why I thought they'd want me back." She blinks, her head lifting. Kass looks to Gabriel, "But its okay. I'll be okay."

"Yeah. You will. You'll be okay." Gabe gives her a firm sound of assurance at that, even if he really has no idea if she will be okay.

"You got a support group out here? Some people you can talk to?" The two beers arrive and he lifts his up in a small salute. "To getting back on your feet and on your own. I'm sure you'll pull down something. Plenty of places need waitresses, that sort of thing."

Kass shrugs and shakes her head, "I don't really know anyone here anymore. Maybe.. maybe in awhile. Gotta... meet people first." She takes the beer and draws it in close. Staring down into the pale yellow liquid before shrugging and bringing it to her lips for a drink. Swallowing the beer, she grimaces, then looks back to him. "Thanks. I'm trying Cabaret next. Heard they need waitresses." Letting out a small groan, she scrubs at her face, "Not looking forward to working in that kind of clothes.. but if it gets me out of my parents' house then whatever."

"Yeah. Well. You know. There are some charities that run group sessions. You know, a place where people can talk. If you want, I can give you the Department of Social Services' website." Gabriel purses his lips, perhaps a bit surprised that Kass didn't get better discharge planning. But moving on.

"Cabaret's a pretty rough place, Kass. I mean, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. But men can get handsy there. And it's a -- different kind of element. You sure you don't want to try just regular diners and stuff?" Gabe saw the way she got when he even touched her to hold her upright.

"No!" Kass is vehement denial towards anything Social Services is maybe surprising, maybe not. She tenses up almost immediately and shakes her head quickly. "No more. I'm out. They let me out, I'm not going back in. I won't. Its a Bad Place and I won't go back!" She rocks off the stool and onto her feet, once more gripping at the strap to her messenger bag. Shaking bodily, Kass seems to be straddling the line between 'okay' and 'fight or flight'. She stares hard at Gabriel, then blinks, and its like the fight just drains out of her in the span of a breath. "I've tried to regular places. They won't take me cause... cause of who I am. What I did. Where I've been. If Cabaret will take me, I don't care. I can't stay there in that house anymore. I'm getting out."

"Okay. Okay." Gabe backs it off, nodding his head to Kass. He's just a guy buying her a beer, not her therapist. And he doesn't want to lose his beer and-or his phone to a panic attack. "I hear you. It's rough when you didn't decide to go in yourself."

He knows about involuntary commitments. Cop thing.

"But yeah. You've got to figure yourself out. Your own identity."

"You shouldn't ever send someone there. No matter what they did, its not right. Its a Bad Place. No matter what they did, no matter how... how crazy they seem. Don't ever send them there. Its just.. its wrong." Kass has that further piece of 'sage' advice before she finally lets her hackles lay down and gives a nod before moving back to the bar to reclaim her seat. Reaching out, she holds the glass in both hands and mutters, "They couldn't handle me, so they just... got rid of me. Sent me off without even knowing what they were doing to me. Without caring. I'll get out though. I don't care if I have to strip naked and stand on my head. I'll get out of there."

Gabriel is sitting at the bar with Kass, each with a cheap pilsner in front of them. He is listening to her attentively, nodding occasionally to show that he is listening. "Yeah. You'll work it out, Kass. Just -- be careful at the cabaret, that's all. If your senses are screaming to get out? Get out."

And that is something to walk into. The Pourhouse had only been frequented by the outsider only a few times, but she strolls inside and directly to the bar, dropping into one of the seats nearby the other customers. Neither looked familiar at least, unless it was the Hispanic guy from her recent extended time in the holding cell at the local jail. Resisting arrest, the charge was. Oops. "Just whatever's on tap," she tells the bartender. Currently she's just wearing a pair of low riding jeans that are faded and a vest style top. Just a vest that fastened in back to adjust it to her small frame. It showed her tats on her arms and probably a bit too much cleavage, but the redhead didn't look self conscious or anything. "Afternoon," she greets the others.

"They should be worried about me. I try not to do bad things, you know? But sometimes it happens. I'm trying to fix it, but I can't seem to fix myself. I can fix anything else, but never me." Kass rambles on with a small shrug, the beer apparently loosening her lips. She takes another drink, watching Shauna's arrival and approach. She removes one hand from her pint glass to give a small wave towards her fellow redhead. "Hi there." Not wanting to intrude if the woman doesn't seem inclined, she looks back to Gabriel and murmurs, "I can take care of myself if it comes to it. But thank you. The girls there are real nice, anyways. So maybe I'll have a.. support group. Soon."

Ruiz was the Hispanic guy from Shauna's recent arrest. Gabe is the other Hispanic guy. But the murder detective doesn't usually deal with the bad drivers, so he just turns and tosses his head in a nod towards her. "Hey. Afternoon." A glance at the vest, but then back to Kass and his beer. "Well. Good to have people." He's still not the biggest fan, but he can see the appeal.

Oh Shauna knew Captain de la Vega very well. He was her arresting officer. But she'd seen others from officers to the chief come and go through the department during her stay. Including a paramedic who brought donuts and cigarettes! She didn't even know if Gabriel was a cop anyway, just suspected from his cop look. There's a glance between the two, support groups and fixing selves. "I hear bartenders are great therapists. God knows I've told them enough shit over the years." A light smirk, like she's so old that she's had years across a bar to talk? She has a light Irish accent.

"I gotta take what I can get right now, you know? Maybe if I get... better... then I can start up somewhere else. But for now, this is what I got," Kass glances towards Gabriel with a small shrug and an expression that says 'what else am I gonna do?'. Then she's glancing past towards Shauna and shaking her head, "I got a therapist. Like.. a real one. Court-ordered. But thanks for the suggestion. I gotta call and make an appointment in the next week..." She takes another drink of her beer, then sets the glass down and looks between the pair. "So what's up with both of you? Anything going on for either of you?"

"Just a lot of work," says Gabe with a shrug of his shoulders, leaving it pleasantly vague as to what that work is. "Got the bosses breathing down my back. Hence coming out to a bar to have a beer and be surrounded by pretty redheads, I guess." The latter part is just a coincidence, but it is the truth. He looks over to the newcomer to the other side of them. "How about you. You got something more exciting going on?"

Shauna listens, rather unabashedly at the conversation between the two. "What do you mean better? What is it that's wrong that needs to be fixed, for lack of a better word?" Taking her chilled glass filled with beer on tap, she tilts it back for a long drink then licks the head off her upper lip. And her lower lip. Or maybe the bottom one was more a flirt. Which one would she flirt with? Maybe both. "Yeesh, court-ordered. That kind of sucks." With a teasing smile to Gabe, since he leaves himself open towards it, she grins. "Breathing down your back? That's got to feel good." Turning her stool she faces them a little more. "Exciting? No, but I'm sure I could be convinced."

"What do you do, then? Is it like.. big corporate stuff?" Kass lifts a brow towards Gabriel, though she seems content to let that question pass for now as Shauna starts asking question. Shrugging lightly, she murmurs, "Me. I gotta get better. I'm not right. Long list of meds, court-ordered therapy... I got things that need fixing." If she's being flirted with,s he doesn't seem to realize it, still glancing back and forth between the pair of them. Settling on Shauna once more, Kass blinks. "Why would someone else's breath on your back be -good-? That's like... one of the creepier things I can think of.." She shudders slightly and makes one of those 'yeeugh' jittery motions with her shoulders.

Gabe is a little more perceptive and seems to recognize the flirt move. He then looks over Shauna thoughtfully, checking her out, trying to decide whether to take the bait. "Yeah. Especially is it is from your bosses. Besides, not half as good as looking down your front," he says to Shauna and her just-too-much-cleavage vest. But it is sort of detached, as if he hasn't decided whether to commit yet.

"I'm a detective. Homicide," he says to Kass, as a side note.

"Oh, no reason." The images of a little on the hands and knees action with the guy behind dissipates at the creepy factor from the other redhead. There's a finger waggle between them, "Never discount bosses, sometimes they just want to have fun too." Laughing, she shakes her head. "I'm just trying to lighten what sounds like a heavy subject. I'm Shauna Carrick, from Ireland by way of Seattle." At the confirmation of the man's position, she props an elbow on the bar and just lets him look his fill, she was still at least modestly covered. Mostly. "In between jobs, myself."

Glancing between Gabriel and Shauna, something finally seems to click for Kass. She lifts her glass to take a final big gulp of the beer, then sets it back down and offers, "Thank you, again, for the beer. And for catching me. I've hit the ground more times than I care to count this week. So... y'know, thanks. Um, I should probably get going, I gotta see a man about some paints. For Halloween, you know? And I gotta see another guy about a job." She pushes up to her feet and runs her fingers through the shock of fiery hair, pushing it away from her face. "It was really nice meeting you both. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again. But, uh... you two should stay and have fun. Or talk. Whatever... people.. do. Thanks again!' With an awkward smile, she gives a wave and heads off at a scurry, laces flapping against the floor as she hurries.

"Good luck out there, Kass," says Gabe to the departing redhead, tossing his head towards her. He then looks back to Shauna. "Poor kid. Clearly got some issues. Hope she lands on her feet." And he seems to mean it.

He then looks back at Shauna, offering a hand. "Gabe Quintanilla. Gray Harbor by way of San Fransisco. So between gigs. But what kind of things you do? Like profession?"

"Don't forget to tie your shoes!" Shauna calls back to the departing Kass. But she didn't know about the falling for the cop thing earlier. The drink is held and she takes a few drinks from it without putting it down. Until he holds out his hand. Oh she puts hers in his and gives it a good shake. A waggle of her brows at the same time. "Mechanic when someone is hiring. No one is currently, so I'm staying in a hotel room with my brother who showed up in town to bail me out."

Gabe arches his brow, perhaps not sure whether the bailing out is meraphorical or literal. You never know. He takes the hand and then smiles at the waggle of brows that goes with it. "Surprised. You'd think garages could always use someone good with her hands." A beat then. "Well. A hotel room with your brother. Could see why you needed to get out."

Good with her hands, Shauna smiles at that, "You'd think so, wouldn't you?" She doesn't clarify on the bailing out, just finishes off her beer. "What about you? Where do you stay?"

"Me? Got my own house. Like working the garden. Over on Oak." Gabe nods in the general direction and moves to polish off his beer and close his tab with the bartender. Then his phone buzzes. "And ... speaking of work. I got to take this." He takes out a business card from his wallet, which has his cell number on it. "Text me sometime if you want."

Shauna reaches for the card and looks it over. She tucks it in her bra beneath the vest, "I'll text. It was great meeting you. I should get gone too. Hopefully we'll cross paths again in the very near future."