2022-01-29 - Dropping By (Pt. 2)

Today is clear, but cold, with a strong and biting wind coming off the harbor and whipping brown leaves into faces for anyone unlucky enough to be out and about. So -- Alexander, then. He's bundled up against the cold, in a heavy coat and mittens as he makes his way to 23 Elm Street, which is actually quite close to his own house. Close enough that he's tried to pick a time when it seems like Seth is home to come knocking on the door. There's a paper bag in one hand that has something heavy and roughly square inside, and for once, Alexander doesn't look particularly beaten up or worn down, although his hair is too long.

The door to Seth's place opens fairly quickly, so he must have been by the door or at least in close proximity, "Hey Alexander." The lack of surprise, lack of a gun, and the way that Seth is already walking back down the hall gives the impression that he knew who was at the door long before it opened. Likely the security cameras he has installed around the place.

"Get your ass in here, it's cold outside. I'm making coffee," mumbles Seth as he pads his way down the hall towards the kitchen. He is dressed in what could only be described as a cross between sleepwear and comfortable clothing. The top is just a t-shirt depicting an old vintage group shot of Van Halen but the bottoms are some flannel pants with a drawstring, "What kind do you want? Espresso? Cappuccino? Americano? How long are you staying for? Want some eggs, I was just about to make some breakfast.
"

Alexander offers one of his fleeting smiles when Seth opens the door, and relaxes fractionally when there's no gun; sometimes having friends with Reasonable Security Concerns heads off awkward greetings. "Hey. You're alive. Good." He ducks his head at the invitation, and sidles inside. Once there, of course, his eyes dart everywhere before settling on Seth's back. He follows him towards the kitchen. "Americano is fine, unless you're making something else. Hot and coffee are my only true requirements." Another quick smile. "Already ate. Sorry for disturbing your breakfast. I brought ice cream?"

It's freezing cold. He clears his throat. "It's alcoholic. I thought it was weird, so you might want some." That makes sense somewhere in Alexander's head, surely.

"Alcoholic ice cream? Where was that back during the waffletaco days? We wouldn't have had to make our own," exclaims Seth as he shakes his head with a laugh. "I think it might be a bit on the cold side for ice cream though, so why don't you just set it in the freezer for now. We will try it some other time."

Seth goes about starting to make the pair of them coffee from one of those fancy espresso machines, starting with Alexander since he is the guest and all. "Yeah, alive. For now anyway. We will see how long that lasts. Vic and I, and maybe de la Vega, need to go to Spokane to tie up some issues. It's likely not going to be a fun time." The 'bouncer' shrugs matter-of-factly, setting the steaming cup of coffee on the counter where Alexander can reach it.

Alexander hesitates, then moves to put the ice cream away. The box proclaims it to be "Booze Cream" in one of those kitschy wrappers that's trying desperately to be Fun And Now. It's cookie dough and scotch martini, apparently. He slides it into an empty place, unashamedly taking a look at the contents of Seth's freezer as he does so, before closing the door. He slides off his mittens, sticking them in his pocket, then reaching for the cup with a quick thanks.

The information causes him to perk up - of course - and he says, "Miss Grey mentioned having to go out of town again. And that one of the trafficked girls exploded. I read the news article about it." He takes a sip of the espresso and makes an appreciative sound.

Seth's freezer is filled with things you would expect to find in a freezer of a relatively good cook. Frozen meats and the like are vacuum-sealed to fend off freezer burn. Sorry Alexander, no hidden body parts, those are in the garage box-freezer.

Taking a sip of his own freshly made coffee, Seth lets a pleased noise escape his lips, "Oh, you talked to Vic? Yeah, we thought we had handled things in a somewhat less blunt manner, but when a couple of folks showed up shouting my name and shooting up Safeway, well, I guess we need to be blunter. We will probably leave in a day or so, once Vic is healed up from that Dream she was in...which reminds me, what is the deal with you and de la Vega and Joe? Vic said something was off there in that dream."

It's an improvement over Alexander's freezer, even if he also doesn't have frozen body parts in his; it's a deficiency that should probably be fixed at some point. At least he doesn't look disappointed, so he probably wasn't expecting to find a head next to the ground beef. He leans back against the counter, cradling the hot cup in his hands, enjoying the warmth of it. "...shouting your name and shooting up Safeway. What are you mixed up in, Seth?" He's getting that frown around the corner of his eyes, now.

But mention of Joe and Ruiz proves a bit of a distraction. He winces, looks away. "We don't like each other. Or," he thinks, "I really don't fucking like him, and he keeps getting close to me when we have to be in the same place. I don't actually know what he thinks about me."

"Do you really want to know, Alexander? This is probably one of those things you don't want to know the details of," Seth warns as he takes a sip of his coffee. "Though I will say, I consider us the 'good guys' in this scenario."

Seth pulls some eggs out of the fridge, tossing a pan onto the stove and turning it on to heat up. "Vic was concerned. Something about thinking Joe was the one that beat the shit out of you a while back. You should talk to her about it because I think she was of a mind to go after Joe. She's got a mama-bear streak when it comes to you for some reason."

"I always wanna know," Alexander says with a shrug. "Whether you or anyone else want me to know is its own thing." He takes a sip of his coffee and watches Seth with flat, black eyes. "And it's fine if you don't." He sighs. "Yeah. He was. I talked with Vic. She's not going to hurt him. It's fine." He grimaces at the last sentence. "It's because her father doesn't hate me, that's all. He's a good guy, her dad. Remarkably sanguine about home invasion."

Seth ahs, nodding once as he cracks an egg into the pan. "Her Dad likes you, that explains it. We haven't had the chance to tell him about the engagement yet. I hope he approves because if he doesn't that could be awkward."

Seth tosses some cheese, cream, salt, and pepper into the pan as well to saute, "As far as Spokane...it's probably no secret to you about the traffic girls and that boat they were found on? Well, we know who the boat belonged to. We went to Spokane and had a polite conversation and left a message with one of the people that represented said organization to stay out of the Harbor. Apparently, that message wasn't well-received so we have to make a return trip and...convince them to listen to us."

Alexander hums thoughtfully, watching the pan with the expression of someone who never actually thought about adding things to eggs. "My impression is that he wants Miss Grey to be happy. If that's a thing that being with you helps, then I think he'll be fine with it." He pauses. "Also, there are cameras in her house that feed him images, so he already knows about you. If he really hated you on sight, he'd have mentioned it. Probably."

The rest, he listens to, head tilted to one side. "Unfortunate." His frown grows a little deeper. "You want any help? Not...I'd rather not help with a message. Not unless it's necessary. But I'm very good at research. Maybe there's leverage that could be used against them; a rival organization, outstanding debt, whatever." He takes another sip. "Miss Grey said that one of the trafficked girls had been turned into some sort of...Glimmer battery? Or bomb?"

"Well, she spends most her time here these days..." Seth says as he starts to mix the ingredients in the pan together, whisking them with a fork and then pushing them around so they cook evenly. "But you're probably right. I'm sure if he had a problem with me he would have said something, but that doesn't mean he knows I am marrying his daughter. Whole new ballgame with that news. We plan on heading out to see him after we get back from Spokane."

Seth takes the eggs off the stove and puts them onto a plate, adds a dash of hot sauce, and then takes a bite. "No," he says bluntly and rapidly. "I think Vic would kill me if we pulled you into this mess. As it is there are starting to be too many cooks in this particular kitchen than I am comfortable with. It's fucking Reyes, man. Or at least part of it is. Even in prison that asshole is pulling strings."

Seth sighs, adding a bit more sauce as he takes another bite of his eggs. "Yeah, Vic told me. Messed her up pretty badly whatever happened. She was burning from the inside out. I was able to help, but she is still pretty out of it."

"You know what you can do, though? You can go check on Dan. I've driven by a time or two, but I can't tell what is going on there... You seem to have more a knack at figuring out that kind of thing."

"You're a decent guy, Seth," Alexander says after a moment. "He'll like you. Just don't lie to him. He's sharp, and I don't think he'll forgive you if you try and play him and get caught. I'm sure he knows Miss Grey is...involved in things he'd rather she not be, and I suspect he won't ask a lot of questions so that she doesn't feel she has to protect him by cutting off contact again. But just be, uh, you? That should be enough."

He ducks his head at the blunt response, staring at the coffee foam for a long moment. In the end, though, he bobs his head. "Okay. It's not very interesting crime, anyway." Those grapes were totally sour, too. He doesn't seem like he expected any other response, though, as he takes a sip of his coffee. "I can check on him. I think he's," a long pause, "miserable and empty. But he won't hurt anyone else."

Seth visibly winces at the reaction Alexander gives to his blunt response. "Listen, Alexander...I know you mean well. I do. I just don't want you to get wrapped up in this bullshit. You don't want to be wrapped up in it either. We tend to play on different sides of the fence when it comes to things like this. I don't want you to find yourself in a situation that compromises your integrity...but I will tell you what. I will talk to Vic and if she thinks there is something you can do to help us out that won't shift the poles on your moral compass, I will have her reach out to you. Fair enough?"

Seth takes another bite of his eggs, "We tried to be nice, but nice didn't work. Now nice has left the building and all that is left is...not nice."

"You sure I can't make you something to eat?"

Alexander shakes his head. "I said it was okay, Seth. I meant it. I know that, and I don't want to put anyone in a difficult position. Not over something that only matters a little to me." Then he smiles, just a little. "If I cared enough, I already have enough information to start moving forward with an investigation, anyway. I won't, unless you guys don't come back."

He glances back down at the coffee. "You made me coffee. That's enough. And it's good coffee. Which is an improvement over my usual." Another of those quick smiles. "I mostly wanted to make sure things were...okay? With you. Aside from the Spokane shit. Missing time, all of that. I have an office, now, too."

"Yeah?" Seth questions as he raises an eyebrow, "Are you going legit on us, Alexander? How is business? I would say that a small town like this probably doesn't have much call for a PI, but then I remember this is the fucking Harbor."

Seth takes a sip of his own coffee to wash down the last of his eggs, the plate gets put into the sink. "I'm as good as I can be. Probably better off than I deserve. Hell, no probably about it. I don't deserve to be as happy as I am. Vic has...I don't know. She makes me happier than I think I have ever been...and if you tell her I said that I will castrate you and shove your balls down your throat." Seth does that two-finger eyes thing between them. "You hear me, Clayton." As matter-of-fact Seth sounds about it, there is a look on his face that shows he is only joking. Somewhat.

"Of course, because I have now admitted that to the universe I expect something to fuck it all up now...because that is my life."

Alexander sniffs. "I still don't have a license. But Perdita is charging me way too little to be in her building, in the haunted office. A few wolf-gangsters are not too high a price to pay." He smiles. "I've always made money. People in this town need someone who doesn't think they're crazy or stupid, sometimes." A pause. "Or who doesn't really care if they are, I guess."

At the last, he outright laughs, a low but sincere sort of sound. "You should tell her, if you haven't. People like to hear that sort of thing." He takes another drink. "But I won't tell her. Unless she asks," he adds, deadpan. "But I don't think she's dumb enough to ask me for relationship insights." There's a roll of his shoulders. "Something always happens, Seth. Doesn't mean you can't be happy right now. It's gonna happen whether you fret or not."

Very reassuring, Alexander Clayton.

"Yeah, yeah..." Seth says with a wave of his hand as Alexander tells him he should confess those feeling to Vic. "She already knows...in her own way. We don't tend to fall on words like that. Hell, she would probably kick me in the nads if I told her that I loved her flat out like that."

Seth shrugs and sips at his coffee some more. "Very reassuring, Clayton. Remind me to book you for more uplifting counseling sessions. You have a real knack for being able to uplift someone's mood."

Alexander snorts. "Just remember that. When you miscommunicate and you need to get drunk in company. I will not say 'I told you so', but you'll know." Still, his voice is light and teasing. The last gets a shrug. "You want happy and hopeful, you got Ravn. You want crazy and brutally honest, you got me." His expression softens. "But I'm glad you're happy. You both are. It's good to be happy."

Seth thinks on that for a moment...quietly contemplating before he expels a long and drawn-out sigh as he reaches for his phone. "If this fucking backfires I am shooting you in the dick."

Seth starts to rapidly type out something on his phone, "I might need to add some whiskey to my coffee after this."

Hitting send, Seth tosses the phone back onto the counter and scratches his chin, "Maybe it is time to break out the ice cream..."

Alexander snickers again. "Oh no. You trust crazy, you don't get to shoot crazy in the dick later. It's a rule." But even he blinks when he sees Seth start to text. "What? Right now?" He opens his mouth. Closes it. Watches the phone hit the counter. "Boozy milkshakes? A booze milkshake would be pretty nice."

"Go and get the boozy ice cream and milk, and I'll get the blender out. We can sip at them as we wait for your fate." Seth says with a bit of a chuckle as he reaches into one of the lower cabinets to pull out his blender. "

Alexander tries not to look nervous, as he gets the boozy ice cream and milk. The contents of Seth's fridge are given the same scrutiny as the freezer. It doesn't even seem targeted at Seth directly, more than that Alexander has trouble not sticking his nose into anything that he doesn't know about. He puts the items on the counter and eyes the blender. "You do things professional. I just use a spoon. Usually."

"Doesn't a spoon just make it all lumpy?"

As Seth is pulling out the blender, his phone chimes. Setting the kitchen appliance on the counter the bouncer picks up the phone with a grin and reads the screen. The grin falters, slowly reversing itself into a frown as Seth rapidly fires off something back. Then again. And again.

In short order, Seth slams the phone onto the counter and slowly swivels his head over in Alexander's direction. "I should never have listened to you, Clayton..."

Opening a drawer in front of him, Seth slowly places his hand into it as he stares daggers towards the private detective.

"Lumpy isn't bad. When it's lumpy, you get texture. Some parts are just shocks of cold ice cream, while others are ice cream flavored milk. The inconsistency is actually sort of--" Alexander trails off when the phone goes off. He stands and watches, and visibly flinches when Seth slams the phone down - he crow hops backwards once.

Bright side, when Seth reaches into the drawer, Alexander doesn't reach at the small of his back for his knife. The lights in the kitchen flicker and stutter-hum, though...and the investigator? He outright flees from the kitchen, heading for the front door. "I'm sorry! I'll tell her it was my fault!"

Seth pulls out the ice cream scoop he was going for and breaks out into a guffaw.

"Get your ass back here, Doofus. I'm just fucking with you!" he calls after Alexander. "She just asked if the two of us got drunk and watched a Bridgerton marathon! Oh, and that she loves me too...then she called me an asshole and went to go take a nap!"

There's silence. At least there's not a slamming door, but Alexander returns and pokes his head around the doorframe, eyeing Seth warily. There's a long moment where it's clear Alexander is sorting through this entire social interaction and trying to pick a response. Finally, he settles on, "I like my dick, and I will protect it." And sidles back into the kitchen. "But I'm glad that she loves you too." He smiles. A quick look at the ice cream scoop. "You know, in 1934, in Seattle, a ice cream scoop was actually used to murder a mob snitch. Apparently the parlor was a front, and when they realized they had a mole, they lured the guy into the back room, and scooped his eyes out."

The More You Know(tm).

Seth continues to chortle for another minute, "Man..the look on your face. I really wish I had a camera that could have picked that up. I will cherish that memory forever."

As Alexander makes his way back over, Seth finally manages to settle down enough to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Yeah?" he says as he looks back down to the ice cream scoop, "I could see that. A pencil would be more practical and quick, but I can see how this might make for a slow and torturous punishment. "

Seth grabs the ice cream and uses the scoop to start placing balls of the frozen concoction into the blender. "Did you want to add an egg or anything? I sometimes add an egg in for the protean and to thicken it up, but that isn't for everyone."

Alexander scowls at the chortling. "You realize I could make it so that half the people in this town clearly remember you stripping naked in the street and shaking your ass at the St. Mary's priest, right? You would never be able to convince them it didn't happen." He points. "Don't think I won't make your life a living hell, and I don't even need a pencil or an ice cream scoop."

He's not quite sulking as he settles back in against the counter. "An egg is fine."

\The scowl breaks Seth again and he goes back into a snickerfit. "Oh come on, man. You know that was some funny shit. Like I would actually shoot you, please. And honestly, do you really think me shaking my ass at a priest would....yeah, your right. That might actually be something I care about. Touche."

Seth cracks an egg into the blender and adds a hint of vanilla extract to the mixture before he sets the lid on and gets it to blending, "The way you bolted I am half-surprised you don't have to check your shorts for some leakage."

Harumph. HARUMPH says Alexander, grumping again at the snickers. He does say, "I knew you were secretly a good Catholic lad under all the cool. That guilt never goes away," he adds, voice dry. "And my shorts are fine, Seth. People I like try to kill me all the time. I have a strategy." Which apparently involves running away. He eyes the blender like it's somehow the electronics' fault. "I assume everyone will shoot me if it serves their purpose. It's easier that way." He then offers a smile. "But it's nice that you say you wouldn't."

Blending over, Seth pulls a pair of mugs down from the cupboard and fills each one with the boozey concoction, sliding one of them over to Alexander. "Yeah, yeah. No, no it doesn't. Catholic guilt is only surpassed by Jewish guilt. Woe be to the man or woman born into a household with both religions." He clinks his glass against the other and takes a sip, making a surprisingly pleased expression. "Not bad..."

"As for your strategy, well, seems to have worked so far. Bathroom is over there if you want to check anyway."

Alexander takes the mug, and sniffs the concoction. It seems to pass the smell test, though, because he takes a sip. His eyebrows go up, and he smiles. "That...actually isn't bad, yeah. I like it." He takes another, more robust drink, then laughs. "That would be terrible. And I don't need to check my shorts," there's another harumph sound. "My shorts have seen scarier things than even you," he mutters.

Then stops. "Wait. That didn't come out right."

Seth takes another sip, this time a much longer one as he makes his way out of the kitchen and over to the couch. "Well, no...but it's true. I was with you when we dealt with those dog-headed monstrosities that Dan was putting together. Hell, those things were nasty. I may have had to check my own shorts after that night.
"

Alexander trails Seth out of the kitchen and into the room. He perches at the edge of a seat and sips. The living room is given the same once over. "Those were bad," he agrees, quietly. "Dreams have a lot of fucked up stuff like that. I mean, women turned into bombs? This fucking town." There's a weary grimace. "It's not that this side doesn't have just as many horrors. They just have fewer tentacles and abominations of science." He lifts the glass. "But this is good."

Seth nods and sips his drink, "This is good." he agrees.

"I will forever have nightmares about my first Dream. I will never get over it," Seth says with a chuckle, "and the worst part is that it was tame compared to other ones I have been in since. BUt you know what they say, you never forget your first!"

"It's not quite a waffletaco. But still decent," Alexander says, with a smile. He slowly relaxes back into the chair, and nods. "I still have nightmares about mine, too. And it was a long time ago. But those things stick with you." He considers. "What was your first time getting Lost? I know you said you used your abilities for the first time when you were a kid. That's usually when people start getting Lost, too."

"Actually that didn't happen until recently..." Seth admits with a shrug. "Probably two years ago now? Give or take. Hard to remember with the time changes. Long story short, I ended up in a dream naked....yes I have since learned not to sleep in the buff...and got hit on by a pregnant talking frog. Joey was there...he lent me an apron. I think de la Vega was there, but I could be mistaken. Anyway I end up carrying this frog to her place...and she births her tadepole eggs all over me. Well, into the apron anyway. Had to carry those things to the water. It was. nasty."

Alexander blinks. Several times. "I." He shakes his head. "That's fucked up. I mean. I've been in a number of weird dreams. But nothing has ever...birthed on me, and I'm pretty happy about that." He takes a drink, eyes Seth. "I'm surprised you didn't just drink for a week after that, man. Or say fuck it and run to Miami or something."

"I think I did drink for a week. Maybe two," admits Seth as he takes another sip of his milkshake. "It was revolting. I don't recommend it. Trust me, I thought about high tailing it out of here once I realized all the magic shit was actually real. But you know how hard it is to escape this place. It doesn't tend to work out so well." He takes another sip of his drink, relaxing into the chair and letting out a slow sigh, "Than, you know, met you and Ravn and Vic....well, I already knew Vic but really got to know Vic.."

Alexander's nose wrinkled. "Fuck. Yeah. Revolting sounds like a good word for it." The milkshake is consumed, but there might not be enough ice cream and booze in the world to wipe even the taste of that from his mouth. "Oh, and yeah. Don't sleep naked in Gray Harbor. Learned that one super early." He snorted. "Ever had to be a twelve year old explaining how you ended up in the neighbor's house stark naked? Not a great time." He chuckles, a bit humorlessly. "Gray Harbor - where they don't let you leave."

"Yeah, I learned the don't sleep naked thing that night...but you know what, I think the veil fucks with you no matter what because almost every time I get sucked into one of those damn things I end up nude. It's just like a big old fuck you from them." He shrugs, "So..I just don't care anymore." He chuckles, "People see my junk, they see it."

Alexander snickers. "Or maybe one of the Dark Men just has a crush on you. They send weird fucking dreams sometimes, so I sometimes wonder if it's not...as much about entertaining them as feeding them. And one of them thinks you're sexy." It's more teasing than serious. "Luckily, in the average Dream, people aren't--there are other things to worry about than teasing someone over showing up underdressed. And cameras don't work. Lucky you," he adds, with a snicker.

Seth chuckles. "Maybe. What's not to have a crush on?"

The bouncer winks jokingly, "I'l just send Vic after them. Somehow I think she would take offense to one of them eyeing her man."

Alexander laughs, softly. "I'm not entirely certain who I would vote on in that match up. Miss Grey is terrifying when she's surprised. I've never seen her angry, and I consider that a good thing." He takes another drink. "Although it would be funny if it were so. Byron...one of the denizens of Over There. Not a Dark Man, but the Archivist, ended up falling for him, I think. Apparently made a wax figure of him. It was a little odd. But very funny."