Working Hard or Hardly Working (Open)

[vamptai]

"All right, roguish Johnny Depp, what I want is quite simple."

He grinned, fully aware of the fact that he was being teased. Believe it or not, he'd grown used to being teased over the years. There were only a few ways to embarrass him, and not many people knew exactly what those were. Of course she now knew of one of them, due to his comment on that old bet he'd lost.

Alls I want is for you to, after coffee of course, go home, take some Nyquil, and rest. And if you don't, trust me. My apartment isn't far from here, savvy?"

He thought about that veiled semi-threat for a moment. In his right mind, and possibly under the anonymity that his mask afforded him, he just might have asked for clarification on that last bit. However, he was so exhausted that the idea of sleep was better than making some kind of witty retort. His conscience was yelling at him for forget that and just make the damn quip anyway, but he ignored it as he raised two fingers to his forehead in a salute. "Scout's honor. Soon as we finish here, I'm going back to my apartment and I'm going to crash for a couple of hours."

They rounded the corner and he waved to an employee just stepping out, a petite little woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. "Hey, Alex! The usual, except not decaf this time." The young woman fixed him with a quizzical stare. "No decaf for once, huh? You realize it's not a substitute for sleep, right?" He nodded, trying to hurry his response along. "Yeah I know, but I might collapse into a dumpster on my way back without it."

Alex nodded before scribbling the order down on her little pad, looking over at Victoria with a smile. "And for you?"

[masquerade]

"Scout's honor. Soon as we finish here, I'm going back to my apartment and I'm going to crash for a couple of hours." His two-fingered salute made the pinkette grin. She would, normally, demand he come to her apartment but in this case... They weren't really friends yet. Rather, the pair were acquaintances and she wasn't about to push her luck. She peered at the cafe curiously. She rarely got out like this except to the movies and that was with herself only. And... crap, she was treating. She felt completely moronic now. Goddamn. She had to plan another robbery tonight.

So lost in her thoughts was she that she jumped when the waitress asked her what she wanted. Toria was momentarily confused, having forgotten that she wasn't at home and she wasn't going into the armory. Speaking of the armory... No, no... Tea... She smiled coolly at the woman. No matter where she was, other women would always make Victoria Napier a complete and utter bitch. She hated other women with a passion and now was no different.

"Oolong tea will do." She scowled slightly. "Oh, wait. I doubt you have any of that." She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, giggling in a rude way. "Sorry, I tend to forget some places are still in the Middle Ages. Earl Grey will have to do for now." She giggled again coldly. "And may I suggest," she added as she moved toward a table, "that you don't apply so much make-up? Raccoon eyes are not attractive." She went overboard there. The woman wasn't even wearing that much make-up. Just a light dash of blush. She looked attractive and that was why Victoria got on her case. She was pretty and Toria didn't like competition for anyone's attention. It was annoying. But she shouldn't have said that. She knew she shouldn't have but... Well, she felt pleased. She was a bitch and it was nice.

It had been such a long time since she'd been able to snap at someone like that. She'd been lying low ever since the cops started talking about Masquerade. She sighed and looked at Wally, wondering what his reaction would be since he had just witness the really Toria. She liked to put up a facade in the beginning and gradually wore it away. Oh well. She could only hope he wouldn't hate her. In fact, she hoped he would at least tell her off, tell her it was rude. She didn't like being a bitch but if she didn't she would be a goody-goody little girl and by god she wasn't that. She thrived off of other people's hurt and discomfort. That was one thing she inherited from her father. She shivered, not linking the thought of how much like Jack Napier she actually was.

"That was pretty rude, huh?" she asked Wally softly, looking at her manicured nails splayed out on the table in front of her.

[vamptai]

Wally had already taken a seat at the table before them, and he was settling against the back of the chair; it was exactly the way he remembered, sturdy, metal, and not entirely comfortable to recline in. It would keep him from falling asleep for a while. He nonetheless leaned his chair back onto two legs with a grin, vaguely interested in what Victoria was going to order. He wasn't very big on tea, and he didn't get the feeling that Raven would entertain his curiosity, so all he knew was that it was just leaves steeped in water. And that, he knew, was a pretty ignorant stance.

Oolong tea will do. Oh, wait. I doubt you have any of that. Sorry, I tend to forget some places are still in the Middle Ages. Earl Grey will have to do for now."

The grin kind of slid off his face as he slowly lowered the front of his chair back to the ground, looking back over at Alex. The girl, a bit shell-shocked by Victoria's attitude, looked back at him as if she wanted to ask him how to react.

"And may I suggest, that you don't apply so much make-up? Raccoon eyes are not attractive."

There was silence then, unbroken by the conversations that continued at other tables slightly out of earshot. He straightened up in his seat, fixing an apologetic look on Alex. "Depends on how you do them, I guess. People like KISS after all." Alex ignored him, clutching her little metal serving tray to her chest as she lowered her hand with the notepad, repeating the orders a little more tersely than she usually would have. She then spun around and went back into the building, moving out of their eyesight as she went behind the counter. He knew Alex well enough to know that she wouldn't be the one bringing their drinks.

He sat back against his chair again, waiting for Victoria to say something. It felt wrong for him to break the silence.

"That was pretty rude, huh?"

Even though she wasn't looking at him, he couldn't stop himself from nodding his head. "A bit, yeah." He wanted to ask her what the hell she did that for, who she thought she was to act like that, but the words didn't come to him. Something caught his eye and he glanced over at the door to the cafe, catching sight of a man a couple of years his senior. Spiky red hair and metal all over his face, he seemed like just the kind of guy who'd be working at a place like this. Wally made eye contact with him and gave him a "just drop it" look, and the guy went back in.

He wished that this had happened after their drinks came. It would have given him something else to do, besides just sit there thinking. He hesitantly raised a hand, playing with the brim of his hat as he spoke up again. "Want to talk about it?"

[masquerade]

Shit. She was so stupid. So stupid stupid stupid! She curled her hands into fists, cursing her stupidity.

"A bit, yeah. Want to talk about it?"

Did she want to talk about it? What was there to say? She couldn't just outright say she hated women. She always hated women. She couldn't say that. She propped her elbows up on the table and rested her face on her fists, her pink eyes falling on her red headed companion. She had been a bitch and she couldn't redeem herself. The grin he had worn was no longer present... God, she was so stupid.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she hissed to herself, not caring if Wally heard her. She was an idiot. Sighing, she closed her eyes, offering a bright grin that didn't hold a candle to all her previous grins. Well, she could probably tell him but she didn't know how it would go over. "God, I'm so stupid," she announced cheerfully, laughing almost hysterically. She exhaled. In this situation, her mother wouldn't have placed herself in. Her father... What would Jack Napier do? That man.. Well, he would laugh and taunt Wally a bit before basically saying outright that women were the epitome of Hell. Combining those, Toria couldn't say much to save herself from Wally's most likely disapproval.

"I hate women," she whispered cheerfully. "I haven't the faintest of ideas as to when it started but... I hate them. I always must be the center of attention. And when another woman tries to steal my limelight, I get... So angry." She looked up at her read headed companion, her eyes curious but guarded, waiting for scorn. "You probably hate me now, right? You think I'm a bad person? To hell with that. I just can't tolerate another many, any man, choosing someone over me. Like that bloody Roy Harper!" A scowl flitted across Victoria's face at the mention of Roy Harper. "I try my best and my best isn't enough. So," she leaned back and turned her gaze to her nails, "I hate women. I don't like being mean to them," she laughed here, "but it makes it easier to know they can't have what they want."

She cast her eyes back to Wally, wanting him to be disgusted, wanting him to scorn her. But at the same time, Victoria just wanted the red head to understand. The only people who knew what she was like were her foster parents and what few friends she had. She'd never told a complete stranger whose name was the only thing she knew that she hated women. She ducked her head.

"I'm sorry, Wally."

[vamptai]

((Wow, I really apologize for the late reply.))

He was aware of the fact that she was talking under her breath, but he wasn't close enough to hear what she said. He sat there in the uncomfortable metal chair, fiddling with his hat idly as he waited for her to speak up. Shortly he grew tired of this, and just took off the cap - red hair fell over his eyes, and he brushed it back. No sense in keeping it on if I'm not going in to work today. Gives me bad hat hair, anyway.

"God, I'm so stupid,"

Her tone caught his attention. She sounded happy. As wrong as it was, he envied her a little bit for that; he knew that if the roles were swapped, there would be a very different atmosphere in the air. If he were in her position, he'd probably be yelling. Venting.

"I hate women. I haven't the faintest of ideas as to when it started but... I hate them. I always must be the center of attention. And when another woman tries to steal my limelight, I get... So angry." She looked over at him, inspecting him, waiting for some reaction. "You probably hate me now, right? You think I'm a bad person? To hell with that. I just can't tolerate another man, any man, choosing someone over me. Like that bloody Roy Harper!"

She scowled, and the name niggled at the back of his head. Roy Harper... Where had he heard that name before? It was important and he knew it, but the reason why was just on the tip of his tongue. He didn't think the name sounded famous, but if he knew it and Victoria knew it, then that was too big of a coincidence for him. Sometimes, he reasoned, it was beneficial to be paranoid as a hero. He made a mental note to look up that name later when he reported back to the Tower.

"I try my best and my best isn't enough. So, I hate women. I don't really like being mean to them, but it makes it easier to know they can't have what they want."

He mused over what she said, returning her look. He was still trying to gather his thoughts when the red-haired employee came back out, placing their drinks in front of them. He made eye contact with him. He knew that the guy didn't like him, but after this? He'd probably hate him. Wally didn't really care. He thanked him and watched him walk back inside.

He glanced down at his coffee, watching a small cloud of steam rise from it and drift away. He watched it as long as he could which, admittably, wasn't too long before it was lost in the air. He looked back over at Victoria just in time to see her duck her head.

"I'm sorry, Wally."

"Don't apologize to me. You have no need to." He took a sip of his coffee and winced; less from the heat, and more from the fact that he had said that more harshly than he had meant to. He hoped she wouldn't notice, and immediately realized that was a foolish hope. "You did hurt her, but it's not that bad. Nothing a shoulder to cry on and a pint of ice cream won't fix. She works at a cafe, she has to learn to deal with this kind of thing eventually." He paused and took another sip of coffee, taking the time to consider what he would say next. "I'm not a psychiatrist, nor do I have any aspirations to be one, so I'm not going to pass judgment on you for the way you act. No one's perfect, but no single flaw defines us. And I'd like to believe that I'm a decent judge of character."

He finally sat back against his chair, looking down his nose at his cup of coffee. "So no, I don't hate you. In case you're still wondering."

[masquerade]

Victoria felt the urge to grin when her tea was placed in front of her but she felt that wouldn't fit in with the situation. Since when, she had to wonder, did she care about fitting into the situation? Normally, she would have had a grin on her face, possibly a lecherous one depending on how bored she was. But right now? She just sought Wally's answer and to grin would just be out of place.

"Don't apologize to me. You have no need to. You did hurt her, but it's not that bad. Nothing a shoulder to cry on and a pint of ice cream won't fix. She works at a cafe, she has to learn to deal with this kind of thing eventually." He paused and Toria felt hope bubble up inside of her which she quickly doused with hot tea that didn't agree with her taste buds. She lived for Oolong tea and because it wasn't... Well, it was just gross to her. "I'm not a psychiatrist, nor do I have any aspirations to be one, so I'm not going to pass judgment on you for the way you act. No one's perfect, but no single flaw defines us. And I'd like to believe that I'm a decent judge of character. So no, I don't hate you. In case you're still wondering."

Feeling ridiculously relieved, Toria grinned brightly before taking a drink of her tea that was painfully bitter. She coughed slightly; that had burned her throat. Yuck. She brushed her hair from her face, peering at her red headed companion. She was completely glad his attention was on his cup of coffee because she didn't know what to say at the moment although she supposed she could be a brat and bring up his (apparently) pink haired girlfriend. Or she could be bland and ask if there was sugar packets inside. She tilted her head to the side.

"So," she said, clearing her throat. That annoying bitter tang was still lingering. She wanted to go puke off somewhere away from the public's eye just to rid her body of the unsweetened substance. "Your pink haired girlfriend... What's she like that makes her very independent? Does she maybe worship the Great Cheese or something of that matter?" She took another sip of her tea. "And where in God's name is the sugar?"

[vamptai]

Wally kept his eyes on his cup as he took another drink from it, People often wondered whether he thought about some of the things he said, and for the most part, he really didn't. Whatever first popped into his head was always voiced, whether or not it was wholly appropriate for the situation. But he also had a reputation for being honest in a naive way, so he could deal with being thought of as tactless.

"So," She cleared her throat, which succeeded in garnering his attention. He lowered his coffee and looked back over the table at her, wondering just what she was going to say next. "Your pink haired girlfriend... What's she like that makes her very independent? Does she maybe worship the Great Cheese or something of that matter?

"Worship? Nah, she's not very religious. At least, not in that way." It seemed that this change in course was the best for him; now that he was thinking of an answer to Victoria's question, he wasn't considering just how awkward this entire thing was. "I think it's just because she had a rough time as a kid. People viewed her as...bad luck, I guess. She had to become very independent. She probably just feels vulnerable relying on anybody."

He raised his cup again, glancing down as he took another gulp. The cup was already half-empty, but he was doing his best to savor it and pace himself. Too much caffeine too fast would make him all jittery, and him being jittery meant that people would be seeing afterimages everywhere. "It feels a bit odd talking to someone about this after thinking about it for so long, but it feels good to get it out."

"And where in God's name is the sugar?"

He looked back down at the table, realizing that aside from their drinks, it was entirely bare. Well crap. He hadn't even realized it; he never sweetened his coffee, so it just didn't occur to him. He heard the scuffling of chairs behind him as people got up to leave a nearby table, He reached over and snatched up their container of sugar packets, depositing it on their table. He idly scratched the back of his head, "Eh, sorry about that. I should have gotten some from inside before I sat down."

[masquerade]

She smiled cheerfully but slightly subdued when she heard his answer about his pink haired girlfriend. "Worship? Nah, she's not very religious. At least, not in that way. I think it's just because she had a rough time as a kid. People viewed her as...bad luck, I guess. She had to become very independent. She probably just feels vulnerable relying on anybody." That was... Well, the outcome of her independence was probably to be expected if one is raised like that. She tapped the rim of her tea, nodding once to make it obvious she understood what he was trying to say. Well, she thought she understood anyway.

She glanced around for a moment before glancing back at her red haired friend.

"It feels a bit odd talking to someone about this after thinking about it for so long, but it feels good to get it out."

She grinned almost lecherously; that was the kind of comment that brought out the pervert Victoria Napier. It didn't matter that he looked like crap, that was kind of open for her to make of it as she pleased. Besides, that was the kind of person the pinkette was. Lecherous and perverted when she got the chance to be although that wasn't often.

"Well," she laughed, "I tend to... Create feelings in others that end up in them pouring their heart out to me. Although they usually end up in my bed after that." She laughed, running her fingers through her hair. She was kidding. She wasn't a bitch; stealing someone's man from them was the worst thing she could do. And if the man broke up with his girlfriend, she beat the testosterone filled one senseless. She was lecherous and whorish, yes, but she wasn't a boyfriend stealer.

She picked up a few of the sugar packets when Wally placed them down onto their table. "Eh, sorry about that. I should have gotten some from inside before I sat down."

Yes, he probably should have gotten sugar before he sat down but he didn't know she liked sugared tea. Oh well. It wasn't his fault; she should have asked for it. That was Victoria for you. Demanding things a tad too late and being lecherous. "Eh, I'm kidding," she said. "It is always better to get things like that off your chest though; it makes life so much goddamn easier." That brought up Masquerade to mind. Yes, Mask. If only she could tell somebody that wouldn't tell that she was Masquerade as well as just Toria. She couldn't tell anyone. And the only person that she would even consider telling, that bloody Roy Harper, was avoiding her. Oh freaking well.

[vamptai]

Wally found his attention drawn back to his coffee after his explanation. After turning up the cup, he peered down into it - the amount of liquid left barely constituted a gulp. Well, so much for pacing himself; although thankfully, if he got too much of a high off this caffeine, it wouldn't last longer than a couple of minutes.

He looked past the rim of his cup at Victoria, confused by the grin on her face. It was a familiar look to him, but he couldn't place it. He couldn't really place anything with her, and he wondered if that was deliberate or unintentional. He returned his attention to his coffee with a small frown, draining the last of the coffee.

"Well, I tend to... Create feelings in others that end up in them pouring their heart out to me. Although they usually end up in my bed after that."

His drink suddenly caught in his throat and he flung one hand over his mouth, coughing fairly deeply as he tried to clear his airway. Sure, women had said some pretty risque things to him, but they were usually fan girls of Kid Flash. And they also usually didn't do it when he had something in his mouth. Having finally regained his breath and composure, he cleared his throat with a 'hmph' and set his empty cup down on the table. "Sorry about that. Went down the wrong pipe." The more perverted side of his mind, spurred on by Victoria's comment, sounded off warning bells as to the potential innuendo of what he just said. He flushed a bright red and rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the side. "No wait! I meant to say that I...uh..." He cleared his throat again, much more quietly, before looking down at the table. Wally, speechless. It probably qualified as one of the wonders of the world. What number were they up to now, 7? 8? He couldn't recall; what he needed was a cold shower for his mind.

"Eh, I'm kidding. It is always better to get things like that off your chest thought; it makes life so much goddamn easier."

"I suppose so." The red slowly fading from his cheeks, he sat back in the uncomfortable metal chair -- why did he like these again? Oh right, because you couldn't relax on them. Thinking on it now, he realized that was a really stupid reason. "Anything else you want to talk about? Or is this the part when you tell me it's my bedtime, and shoo me off to my apartment?" Evidently he'd recovered some from his embarrassment, because he was flashing her one of those grins that Kid Flash was seldom seen without.

[masquerade]

"Sorry about that. Went down the wrong pipe. No wait! I meant to say that I...uh..." Toria felt the hysteric laughter at Wally's stumbling and red face bubble up to her lips. She covered up said laughter with a drink of her tea. Geez, she hadn't had this much fun in ages. In fact, it almost took her mind off of that stupid Roy Harper. At the thought of the other red head's name, she felt her blood boil. More sugar. How many sugar packets had she added, she wondered as she mixed about five more into her drink. Eight or more, she concluded. More sugar.

"I suppose so." She snickered quietly when the red died down from his face. That had been funny. "Anything else you want to talk about? Or is this the part when you tell me it's my bedtime, and shoo me off to my apartment?"

Victoria frowned for a moment. She'd completely forgotten that she made Wally promise to go to bed after tea slash coffee. Crap. He was, honestly, the best entertainment she'd had since she arrived to Jump City. She didn't want to let that go. That would just ruin the rest of her day but really, he did need to rest. The only other way she could think of making her day good would be to go blow something up, like a park. That would be fun. Wally was fun too. Decisions, decisions. She tried to smile but it just wouldn't come forth. She didn't want to be bored or lonely and she had no job to go back to.

"Well," she mused thoughtfully, "I would send you off to bed but you're just too damn fun to play with." She sighed. "But there's just nothing to talk about unless you want to hear about how much I hate that goddamn Roy Harper and I'm sure you don't." More sugar. She picked up two more packets of sugar. Ten packets? Geez. That was enough. She took another drink of her tea, her half empty tea. He couldn't leave yet, though, right? Because she wasn't done with her tea and sending her in to pay was like sending her to die. She could give Wally the money and he could go in to pay! So he couldn't leave yet! She sighed, frowning once more. But he would leave. At some point, he would have to leave... Life was difficult.

[vamptai]

((Sorry, this turned out far shorter than I expected it to be...))

"Well, I would send you off to bed but you're just too damn fun to play with. But there's just nothing to talk about unless you want to hear about how much I hate that goddamn Roy Harper and I'm sure you don't."

He beamed wildly at her first sentence. His ego was pretty big normally, but when people said things like that? It became astronomical. You could probably see it from space right now "Oh come on, I'm a good listener. Besides, you listened to my girlfriend troubles, it would only be fair." He fidgeted in his chair, trying to straighten out a kink in his back. Full of coffee and wide-awake, it would probably be more comfortable for him to stand than to sit in this metal...thing.

"So, is he...a friend? Co-worker? Classmate? Distant-but-still-kind-of-close cousin?"

[masquerade]

Victoria watched Wally beam. It was sort of adorable and she was overcome with the urge to reach out and hug the red head. She resisted, however, and opted to take a sip of her tea instead of fulfill the strange urge she felt.

"Oh come on, I'm a good listener. Besides, you listened to my girlfriend troubles, it would only be fair." Blinking, Toria looked up from her tea at her companion. He fidgeted but the pinkette paid that no mind. It was silly, really, what she thought. His girlfriend was just that, his girlfriend. Stupid Roy Harper was just a guy she chased after as Masquerade and, sometimes like now, as Toria. But she couldn't help it. She adored red heads that were single. She just adored them. Well, even taken red heads were the most adorable thing to Victoria Napier. "So, is he...a friend? Co-worker? Classmate? Distant-but-still-kind-of-close cousin?"

Co-worker stood out the most in that list and she scoffed, not meaning too. More like arch enemy. Roy-Stupid-Harper. Good God. She did not want to get into this lest Toria go off on Wally for something he couldn't control. A cold sneer crossed her face and she looked at Wally.

"Man! Roy-Bloody-Harper is this guy. This really adorable guy, due to the fact that he's a red head," she paused, realizing that could be taken wrong but plowed on, not caring how Wally would interpret it. "He's the most wonderful person I've ever met and not to mention he's so much younger than me that it makes me a pedophile! And he doesn't even know I exist! Me! I mean, look at me!" She was (somewhat) glad she was still wearing her uniform for work because her normal clothes did not make a good impression on anyone. She took another sip of her tea, twirling a strand of hair absently around her finger. She took a deep breath, setting her tea down. "And to make it worse, I have no way of finding the bloody man and it just always makes me angry when I think about the fact that I can't find him anywhere."

She leaned back in the metal chair, crossing her legs. She was done, for now. Unless he asked any other questions, Victoria was quite finished ranting about that brat that she could never find. She covered half of her face with her hand, closing her eyes. It gave her a headache to think about things like that. She didn't like being the one chasing a guy. She wanted to be the one being chased. It annoyed Toria to no end.

[vamptai]

She scoffed at his suggestions, so he figured that her involvement and feelings for this Roy Harper character were pretty convoluted. He wondered if any of his ex-girlfriends felt the same way about him. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that far-fetched to assume so; Wally wasn't a cold-hearted jerk, but he had the same approach to love that he had towards life: the faster you search for something, the sooner you'll find it. And Wally was a guy who was searching for true love. So when he dated a new girl, it would sometimes last a couple of weeks (often not longer than that) before he realized that he didn't feel "that way" about them, and he would try to let them down easily. Or, barring that, he'd avoid them. And avoiding a jilted ex who has superpowers? Oh, it wasn't easy to hide when they searched for you with x-ray vision.

"Man! Roy-Bloody-Harper is this guy. This really adorable guy, due to the fact that he's a red head." He raised his eyebrow quizzically, but kept it at that. No sense in interrupting her with a half-baked quip. "He's the most wonderful person I've ever met and not to mention he's so much younger than me that it makes me a pedophile! And he doesn't even know I exist! Me! I mean, look at me!"

He decided to oblige her and gave her a cursory once-over. He hadn't really paid attention to the details during their conversation, but she certainly hadn't seemed unattractive. In fact, now that he was paying attention, he saw that she was rather pretty. There was that old saying about how beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but if Roy Harper had ever met her? He'd have to be certifiably blind to just pass her up.

"And to make it worse, I have no way of finding the bloody man and it just always makes me angry when I think about the fact that I can't find him anywhere."

Wait, she knew him and yet didn't know where to find him? Well, Wally could see how that would throw a proverbial monkey wrench into her plans. "...well, hey, I run into a lot of people in my job. I could ask around to see if anyone's seen him, possibly put in a good word for you?" He'd never "hooked someone up", as he'd heard it referred to, but for some reason he wanted to help Victoria out with this. He had a feeling that his friends would find this really funny.

[masquerade]

She peeked out at Wally curiously, just to see his reaction. She had been rather... Iffy right there. Not a good thing to do to your friends but still and what not. "...well, hey, I run into a lot of people in my job. I could ask around to see if anyone's seen him, possibly put in a good word for you?"

She felt a small, grateful smile creep onto her face and leaned forward, realizing she neglected to find out what, exactly, it was that Wally did to go some extra money. Hell, she didn't even try to guess. It wasn't important to her, what he did. Just as long as he was her company. She leaned forward, with her grin still in full swing, and laughed cheerfully. It was rare that anyone except her current flings would offer her anything. "You mean you would?" she inquired. "Wait... What is it that you do, Wally Dearest?"

She licked her lips and brought her too-sugary tea to her lips to drink only to come up empty. With a sigh she set her empty cup on the edge of their table.

[vamptai]

"You mean you would? Wait... What is it that you do, Wally Dearest?"

"Sure I would!" He either didn't take full notice of the "dearest", or he didn't seem to mind it. He paused a beat, wondering how to best phrase his answer. Truth be told, he probably wouldn't get anywhere asking people on the street - he was planning on using his connections as a Titan to help his friend out. Although he was considerably happy that he had a job that made sense for the offer, just so he wouldn't have to straight-up lie to Victoria.

"Oh, I work at a courier company. You know, a place kind of like Fed Ex; our 'clientele' hires us when they want heightened security, speed, or if they just don't want to send it through the post office." It was obvious that it would take a little longer for the coffee to wear off. He was so alert and (just a little bit) hyper, he even did the finger-quotes for "clientele".

He shot a glance at the cafe's open doors, playing with the brim of his hat as he held it in his lap. "Hey, uh...you don't mind if I pick up the tab for today, do you? You can have it the next time we hang out, if it means that much to you." He gave her a friendly wink, letting her know he was joking.