what a great achievement it was to find someone who shirks such little self-restraint.

[glassbox]

WHO: Dorian Gray & Lillian Crawley.
WHERE: A cool bar for cool kids because they are definitely cool people.
WHEN: Friday evening.
WHAT: Birthday drannnks.
WARNINGS: These two though.

[ Lil will be the first to admit that she's guilty of neglecting her housemates a little bit. She doesn't feel guilty, per say, but she knows she's done it and it isn't as if she dislikes them either. There's no harm done by reaching out to the people that have been living with her spare clothes and miscellaneous belongings the past few months, especially if it means getting out and going for a drink. With everything that's happened, it feels like these kinds of occasions have become more and more rare.

Anyway, she's been desperately curious to know: Exactly how old is Dorian Gray anyway?

She swings by the house, as promised, to pick him up and drive over to one of the closer bars -- not a precisely glamorous place, but it has a quaint charm and you're not likely to catch anything, as long as you don't try to drink off the floor. Once they're parked, she heads up to the door first, opening it for him. ]

After you, birthday boy.

Comments

[brushoff]

[ Okay, so Lil was a bit outside of her usual type. Dorian tended to go for the young and beautiful, which tended to mean 'people under thirty'. But there was something about her. Lil was attractive, in a sort of milf kind of way. And Dorian certainly could appreciate older people and had no qualms with flirting with people who were starting to show signs of age. So hey, why not. He sees no harm in having drinks with Lil, possibly flirting with her a bit and seeing where things end up.

After all, what could possibly go wrong? ]

You know, I've actually never been to this place before, [ he says, as he walks into the bar, grin on his face. ] Looks promising.

[glassbox]

Y'can let me know what y'think.

[ Lil strolls inside right after him, all long legs and easy grace. She isn't what she used to be, back in the day -- twenty years ago, she really was something. But she's retired now, with crow's feet crinkling at the corners of her eyes and a hell of a lot more baggage than she had two decades prior. But at least the experience can make her an interesting drinking partner.

She finds them both seats at the bar counter. ]

I promised you I'd buy, so pick your poison, hon. [ Wryly, she adds: ] Then I completely expect you're gonna tell me how old y'jus' turned.

[brushoff]

[ Sauntering over towards the bar corner, Dorian easily slides into the seat...and then wrinkles his nose as soon as Lil mentions ages. Well, lying it is. At least, lying it will be if he can't manage to charm his way out of this one. ]

It'll take more than one drink for my tongue to loosen enough to spill that most sacrosanct of secrets. [ and cue the smirk. ] Maybe two will be enough.

[glassbox]

[ She sees him wrinkle his nose and laughs, amused by how sensitive he is to the subject. It sort of makes her want to tease him about it, bully that she is. Not, of course, that she doesn't understand. She's no spring chicken herself, not anymore. Officially over the hill, as they say.

Lil only pauses to flag down the bartender so they can order something to start before she answers, a bit cheeky when she turns to respond: ]

That easy, huh. If all it takes is a coupla drinks, I'm gonna know y'back an' forth before we leave.

[brushoff]

That implies I don't have that many secrets. [ When it was the entire opposite. Dorian Gray was a man full of secrets. Sure, he'd tell Lil a few of these secrets tonight, but the major ones? Aaaaabsolutely not. Not at all. No way.]

For all you know, I could be a veritable man of mystery myself. [ a man of mystery who looked no more older than 23 at most. ]

[glassbox]

Yeah, you're real mysterious alright. Here I am, buyin' y'drinks an' I don't hardly know a damn thing about you.

[ The wryness lingers in her tone, but it doesn't sound as much like as complaint as it really could. She's still amused, still intrigued by the situation and curious. His secrecy was a sharp contrast to her own disposition -- brash, loud, and entirely too open. Raw and unrefined.

When her beer arrives, she pulls the glass towards her, taking a sip before going on: ]

Makes a gal wonder what you're hidin', y'know?

[brushoff]

Oh, the stories I could tell, [ Dorian responds, as the bartender passes him his drink. Dorian takes a small sip, grins, then takes a much larger sip of his drink. ]

Well, since you've admitted yourself that you don't know a thing about me, where shall we start?

[glassbox]

Well, how about the usual with us Imports t'start?

[ Easy enough place to begin. Same get-to-know-you's that most people in their situation engage in, at some point or another. Idly, she runs her index finger around the rim of her glass, crossing one long leg over the other before she goes on: ]

How long y'been around? [ Then wryly: ] Y'got any friends yet? An' if y'do, how come you're readin' Mitchell's dumb books instead of goin' out with them?

[brushoff]

I've been here a few months now. And as for friends, it's really a pity. Most of my dear friends are either incarcerated, incapacitated, or my haunts simply aren't their scene. [ While Kate and Loki might (and probably would) go barhopping with him if he asked, Dorian had a feeling that not all of them would share the sentiment. ]

What about you? How long have you been here?

[glassbox]

Does sound like a pity, huh.

[ She responds lightly, maybe a bit amused too. ]

I guess I'm comin' up on what, two years or somethin' like that? Got some friends, but when y'been here that long, folks been in an' out a helluva lot. It's stupid, but I get real attached anyway. [ Lil pauses for a sip of her beer. ] Ain't anybody ever accused me of bein' too smart.

[brushoff]

Human nature, [ he responded, with a sigh. ] Despite our best interests, we still keep wanting to do those pesky things like 'making friends' and 'finding companionship.'

[glassbox]

Hey, if y'got friends, then you're guilty too.

[ That comes mildly too, though. She isn't offended by the idea of being weak to her own human nature. She's always been an impulsive, emotional creature -- and she knows that well enough. ]

Don't tell me y'ain't ever been tempted by "friends" an' "companionship."

[brushoff]

Oh, I've been tempted by plenty of things in my life. [ and has succumbed to a bajillion of them ] Friends and companionship, included.

So, I suppose I am a bit guilty. After all, I'm as human as anyone else here—or, at least, as human as any other imPorts.

[glassbox]

Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Gets lonely, bein' stranded in another universe.

[ She sighs a little, propping her elbow up on the bar counter and resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she regards him. Truthfully, all the small talk aside, she still isn't entirely sure what to make of him yet. An enigma, at the moment. ]

Y'know, not countin' my husband when he was here, I already been with two other men in the past couple years -- ain't 'cause I'm tryin' t'be easy either. Jus' happens, y'know? On account of bein' human, like y'said.

[brushoff]

[ wait, husband? Her husband was here. oh, don't say that she was married, he doesn't want her to be married. but hey, if she's been with other men that aren't her husband, then he's fine with that. just as good a chance for him. ]

And so the conversation turns to loved ones. Or, at least, people that can satisfy those human urges. [ he took a drink, small smirk playing on his face. ] Care to kiss and tell?

[glassbox]

[ The husband is -- was a complicated issue. But apparently the man decided he was more attracted to robots than women made of flesh and bone. That make sustaining a marriage a rather trying task. Hence the men that followed. ]

Ain't like I'm embarrassed or nothin', but y'know, I brought y'out here t'get t'know you an' y'ain't hardly told me a damn thing.

[ Her response is wry more than anything else. ]

You go first.

[brushoff]

[ Him not telling her a damn thing is really aokay in Dorian's book. But he might as well say something obvious to get Lil out of his hair (and so he could then turn the conversation back to her.) ]

Well, I didn't have anyone back home, which makes me kissing and telling a bit less scandalous than you. But at the moment, I've got a little...whatever, with Kate Bishop.

[ friends with benefits? fuckbuddies? both? He's not entirely sure how to describe their relationship and honestly, Dorian's fine with that. ]

[glassbox]

[ Her eyebrows lift slightly in surprise. ]

Oh, you're with Kate? [ Interesting. Truthfully, Lil pays much less attention to the Import community as a whole, these days. Back in her home universe, mutants -- especially mutants that weren't American -- had a tendency to keep to their own. It's an easy habit to fall into, but all the more reason for her to get out like this. ] Kate's a smart gal. Pretty too. Y'could do a lot worse.

[ A light, idle sigh. ]

Small world though. I'm with her boss.

[brushoff]

[ And then Dorian straight up chokes on his drink.

one coughing fit later, he looks at Lil like she had just said "I'm with an inbred trailer trash hick with eleven toes." ] Oh you can do so much better!

[glassbox]

[ As she reaches out to rub his back through the choking, Lil half-laughs out of surprise, mostly because she has no idea what he means by that exactly. Though to be fair, her last fling was a one-eyed man that called himself "The Punisher" unironically, and her husband decided he preferred talking appliances over people. She still isn't entirely sure how she ended up with someone as relatively functional as Matt Murdock. ]

Y'know him or somethin'? [ That kind of outburst requires context. ] Are we talkin' about the same person? 'Cause I ain't braggin', but Matt's a good-lookin' gentleman.

[brushoff]

He was my lawyer! [ which, isn't exactly the best fact to mention in a conversation. ] We got on like oil and water. It was terrible.

[glassbox]

[ Her eyebrows lift slightly again. ]

Oh. So it was business. [ That probably shouldn't surprise her. Matt does go to work every day (no matter how often she tries to keep him in bed), so it's really not that outlandish to meet an Import that he's represented. Though, with that five-star review, she has to ask: ] But y'didn't get along though, that's what you're sayin'? What happened?

[brushoff]

It was one of those conflicts of personality you hear about all the time. [ said with a little wave of his hand. ] We simply got along terribly.

[glassbox]

So, that's it? No real drama?

[ She sounds almost a little disappointed. Sighing lightly, she indulges another sip of beer before going on: ]

I ain't sure if that's surprisin' or not. Y'both kinda got that -- what d'you call it? Charisma?

[brushoff]

I've got more charisma than Matt has in his little finger. [ said with an annoyed scoff!!! ]

[glassbox]

Yeah? Y'figure I should be offended?

[ But the question is more wry than it is accusing or angry. She might still be entertained by this conversation -- probably, given the fact that if she were mad about it, it'd be entirely too obvious. She'd probably start a bar fight. Throw someone out a window. Drama. ]

I mean, you're talkin' about the man that seduced me, y'know.