[The rest of April had been an interesting time for opinions on Mallory even if like every single one of those threads was still in process at this point. From settling into some sort of wary acceptance out of necessity, to being angry at him all over again, learning he apparently had some sort of sob story... Everything was just all over the board, but what remained was that he was still mad that the boxer kept punching people he cared about, and no amount of harsh backstory was going to change Emi's mind on that.
That didn't mean the blond wouldn't be surprised to see the older male sitting at his bar that evening.
The Boar's Nest wasn't the most brooding of bars, and Mallory seemed more like a brooder than a sportsfan. Then again, the constant buzz of noise was good when you didn't want to give your thoughts a chance to really form full depressing sentences. Which... given the way he was holding himself, Emi could only assume it was low thoughts on his mind. It was out of place with everything else Emi had come to know about him.
(Unless it had something to do with that.)
It wasn't like Emi actually cared. He didn't. Even still, it was almost... intriguing was close, though callous, and that led him to stand in front of Mallory's seat at the bar. That and the fact that, you know, getting the man a drink was his job.]
[Look, he was a deeply flawed and complex character!!
Sports were alright, Mallory supposed. Combat ones moreso than team-based ones, and it was especially exhilarating to be the one competing, but if he had to settle for watching some guys chase around a puck on a rink instead, he could deal with it. At least some entertaining fights broke out on the ice half the time anyway.
He was only half-paying attention anyway, looking more for some mindless flashing images to keep his brain turned off (or at least at a lower volume) while he moped the night away. He pulled his focus down to Emi, eyebrows raising a little. Did all of his students work here...?]
Ah... yo. Just whatever's on tap. I'm not picky.
[Since he wasn't going to order the black cherry beer he wanted in front of someone who knew him...]
[Yes. All of them. All the students. (A lot of them, anyway.)
There was a slight tilt to Emi's head as he gave Mallory a considering look. He really was having an off time, wasn't he? It seemed unusual for him to be so... almost absent-minded.
Well, anyway, he had an order to work with. Emi nodded, turning towards the taps while plucking up one of the chilled glasses. The brew that he slid in front of Mallory was innocuous enough, though if he stared into the creamy head long enough he might have seen a few glittering sparkles. It was legitimately just beer though, this time.]
[It was frighteningly easy to disassociate in a room full of flat screens mounted high along the walls. Better than the tightly wound nervous wreck he was last time he saw Emi...?
Boy he sure hoped Chou cleared that up by now. Ha. Ha ha.]
Thanks.
[He could swear that if he listened closely, each miniscule bubble of foam murmured out a cheery death aria as it popped and settled. And he wasn't even drunk yet. He eyed the drink with consideration, turning the glass in his hand without imbibing just yet.]
[Emi had just been hanging around to see if Mal could live with the drink or not. Usually if folks didn't like the pre-determined option that was 'whatever is on tap,' it meant that there was something else they actually wanted and just didn't want to ask for immediately for whatever reason. Casual inquiries about his face generally were not involved.
Caught off guard, Emi could only give him a confused look. It hadn't been bruised all that badly. Maybe he'd just been making a face.]
[Oh. Good. THAT SETTLED THAT. Nothing to worry about. Even if Chou said he should practice apologizing, and even if he kind of agreed, didn't this mean that there was nothing left to discuss?
He pondered this while he took an adventurous sip.]
-! ...Huh.
[Nothing at all like other beers he'd tried in the past. It felt like there was a rainbow in his mouth... That wasn't anything to be too concerned about, right?]
It's not bad...
[And he could hear it in his mouth, a chorus of cheerful whinnying, singing the praises of friendship and forgiveness, come on, give him A BREAK HERE. Maybe if he downed it faster it would leave him alone.]
[Watching him try to down it faster immediately after saying it wasnt bad roused a huff of a chuckle out of Emi.]
Yeah, that’s about the usual reaction to that one.
[The other usual reactions were bouts of elation and the smallest haze of rainbows whenever something spectacularly good was happening to their preferred sports teams. If Mallory wasn’t here to actually root for anyone, he was probably pretty safe from the rainbow connection tonight. If there had been any boxing on tonight, that might have been different, but there weren’t any matches on at the moment.
But not being here to root for anyone just brought him back to his original question.]
You’re not here to actually watch anything, are you.
[A statement of fact more than anything else. Emi sounded more bored about the statement than anything accusatory. He was going to get paid either way, so it really didn’t matter.]
[WHY DID EVERYONE KEEP-- no, he knew exactly why. He'd fought people over even dumber shit before. He sighed and pressed his fist against the bar counter.]
I'm sorry about hitting you, alright? [Even if he technically apologized when it happened!] Shit, I get it already...
[The gears in Emi's head turned in swift motions. It'd been a suspicion after talking to Chou about the incident, since there weren't many people that Emi could imagine actually caring about trying to keep things a secret about being in a different body. The suspicion had just been a vague one though, there hadn't been any reason to jump to conclusions.
The blond paused in his wiping motions, leaning his hand on the bar.]
I didn't say you were going to fight anyone. I just meant no one is going to have a problem with you just coming in for a drink.
[Ah. He was the one assuming the worst. Of course... Really, if it were him he'd have a problem with having to serve the guy who hit him.
He pressed his hand to his face and rubbed it upward, smoothing his hair out of his face, which only fell back into place once he turned his attention to his empty glass instead.]
[It wouldn't have been the first time Emi had to serve someone who'd hit him. He couldn't realistically say it would be the last time either. There was a time and a place for making a fuss, and now wasn't it.
(And honestly it didn't really matter if it was him bearing the punches.)
Satisfied enough by the change in Mal's demeanor, Emi gave him a curt nod and eased back from the bar.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
you pick a day
even if like every single one of those threads was still in process at this point. From settling into some sort of wary acceptance out of necessity, to being angry at him all over again, learning he apparently had some sort of sob story... Everything was just all over the board, but what remained was that he was still mad that the boxer kept punching people he cared about, and no amount of harsh backstory was going to change Emi's mind on that.That didn't mean the blond wouldn't be surprised to see the older male sitting at his bar that evening.
The Boar's Nest wasn't the most brooding of bars, and Mallory seemed more like a brooder than a sportsfan. Then again, the constant buzz of noise was good when you didn't want to give your thoughts a chance to really form full depressing sentences. Which... given the way he was holding himself, Emi could only assume it was low thoughts on his mind. It was out of place with everything else Emi had come to know about him.
(Unless it had something to do with that.)
It wasn't like Emi actually cared. He didn't. Even still, it was almost... intriguing was close, though callous, and that led him to stand in front of Mallory's seat at the bar. That and the fact that, you know, getting the man a drink was his job.]
Need something?
this day
Sports were alright, Mallory supposed. Combat ones moreso than team-based ones, and it was especially exhilarating to be the one competing, but if he had to settle for watching some guys chase around a puck on a rink instead, he could deal with it. At least some entertaining fights broke out on the ice half the time anyway.
He was only half-paying attention anyway, looking more for some mindless flashing images to keep his brain turned off (or at least at a lower volume) while he moped the night away. He pulled his focus down to Emi, eyebrows raising a little. Did all of his students work here...?]
Ah... yo. Just whatever's on tap. I'm not picky.
[Since he wasn't going to order the black cherry beer he wanted in front of someone who knew him...]
no subject
There was a slight tilt to Emi's head as he gave Mallory a considering look. He really was having an off time, wasn't he? It seemed unusual for him to be so... almost absent-minded.
Well, anyway, he had an order to work with. Emi nodded, turning towards the taps while plucking up one of the chilled glasses. The brew that he slid in front of Mallory was innocuous enough, though if he stared into the creamy head long enough he might have seen a few glittering sparkles. It was legitimately just beer though, this time.]
Here you are.
no subject
Boy he sure hoped Chou cleared that up by now. Ha. Ha ha.]
Thanks.
[He could swear that if he listened closely, each miniscule bubble of foam murmured out a cheery death aria as it popped and settled. And he wasn't even drunk yet. He eyed the drink with consideration, turning the glass in his hand without imbibing just yet.]
...Is your face okay?
no subject
[Emi had just been hanging around to see if Mal could live with the drink or not. Usually if folks didn't like the pre-determined option that was 'whatever is on tap,' it meant that there was something else they actually wanted and just didn't want to ask for immediately for whatever reason. Casual inquiries about his face generally were not involved.
Caught off guard, Emi could only give him a confused look. It hadn't been bruised all that badly. Maybe he'd just been making a face.]
S'fine.
[That's all he really had to say about it.]
... How's the drink.
no subject
He pondered this while he took an adventurous sip.]
-! ...Huh.
[Nothing at all like other beers he'd tried in the past. It felt like there was a rainbow in his mouth... That wasn't anything to be too concerned about, right?]
It's not bad...
[And he could hear it in his mouth, a chorus of cheerful whinnying, singing the praises of friendship and forgiveness, come on, give him A BREAK HERE. Maybe if he downed it faster it would leave him alone.]
no subject
Yeah, that’s about the usual reaction to that one.
[The other usual reactions were bouts of elation and the smallest haze of rainbows whenever something spectacularly good was happening to their preferred sports teams. If Mallory wasn’t here to actually root for anyone, he was probably pretty safe from the rainbow connection tonight. If there had been any boxing on tonight, that might have been different, but there weren’t any matches on at the moment.
But not being here to root for anyone just brought him back to his original question.]
You’re not here to actually watch anything, are you.
[A statement of fact more than anything else. Emi sounded more bored about the statement than anything accusatory. He was going to get paid either way, so it really didn’t matter.]
no subject
It was just the closest place when I felt like a drink. These seats reserved for sports fans?
[It wasn't that crowded...]
no subject
No. The facilities are for everyone.
[He shrugged, turning away to wipe down the area.]
Observing how they are being used is part of my job. No one's going to fight you about it.
no subject
[WHY DID EVERYONE KEEP-- no, he knew exactly why. He'd fought people over even dumber shit before. He sighed and pressed his fist against the bar counter.]
I'm sorry about hitting you, alright? [Even if he technically apologized when it happened!] Shit, I get it already...
no subject
[The gears in Emi's head turned in swift motions. It'd been a suspicion after talking to Chou about the incident, since there weren't many people that Emi could imagine actually caring about trying to keep things a secret about being in a different body. The suspicion had just been a vague one though, there hadn't been any reason to jump to conclusions.
The blond paused in his wiping motions, leaning his hand on the bar.]
I didn't say you were going to fight anyone. I just meant no one is going to have a problem with you just coming in for a drink.
no subject
[Ah. He was the one assuming the worst. Of course... Really, if it were him he'd have a problem with having to serve the guy who hit him.
He pressed his hand to his face and rubbed it upward, smoothing his hair out of his face, which only fell back into place once he turned his attention to his empty glass instead.]
I'll take one more, then.
no subject
(And honestly it didn't really matter if it was him bearing the punches.)
Satisfied enough by the change in Mal's demeanor, Emi gave him a curt nod and eased back from the bar.]
Same kind?