Third Floor Common Room [Sunday afternoon]

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

Celia had an armful of books from the library and a strange desire to be around other people, still. (Usually the two didn't coincide much for her.) She took her stack out to the common room, flopping lazily on the couch in a flurry of skirts.

She was just about to turn on the television when she heard a soft, deadpan voice say, ""Have you been telling people the butterfly thing? I keep getting calls about threesomes."

Celia started, actually dropping the book she was about to dive into. "...hello?" she said said hesitantly, looking around the room for the voice's owner.

Once she'd actually gotten up and looked behind the television and all the furniture, Celia felt a bit better. She fluttered her hands at the discarded books, bringing them back into a neat pile, and settled back down.

Now, she did turn on the television for company -- she wouldn't actually admit it was because she was a bit uneasy (not to mention confused -- what was a threesome?), but...yes, she wanted another voice in the room that she could actually see the source of.

[open common room is open!]

Comments

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Apparently Celia wasn't the only one who had decided that reading in the common room was the way to go today. Elsa had a book in hand as well as she made her way in, intending to put on a pot of water for tea.

She did sort of freeze in the doorway once she realized who was in there with her, but after a moment she convinced herself that she was being silly, and she wandered over to the kitchenette to fill the teakettle.

"Good afternoon, Celia," she said, nodding her hello. "I'm making tea, would you like some?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

Joker had figured out by now that the third floor common room was the happenin' one to be in, so he headed on down. "Anyone want to take bets on the... oh."

Well, there went his crafty plan.

"You probably have no idea what the Super Bowl is, do you? And if you did, you wouldn't care."

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

Joker gave Elsa a nod and a smile. "Feeling better?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Much," Elsa replied, turning a smile toward Joker. "I really should thank you, you know. I was going to sit around and just get more worked up until the bar cleared out."

Because of reasons? Because of some sort of social expectation that she imagined was there, because so many other people were hanging around?

She was so bad at this.

"I'm making tea. I don't imagine you're really the type, but you know I'm going to offer anyway." A pause. "Tea?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

Joker thought about it. "Yeah, sure, I could do tea. Tea me."

He shrugged. "It was brave of you to go out there. Learn how to be sociable. Have fun. But, if you traumatize yourself that is so not gonna help."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh, you were so going to get some tea, Joker. It was going to come in a cup with a teabag and a little spoon and everything.

Elsa wouldn't even demand you drink it with your pinky up. That's how nice she was going to be.

"It wasn't exactly traumatic," Elsa offered, adding more water to the kettle. "My first two dates were pleasant, and I was a little too surprised by my third being Loki to even think about how many people were there. And then the last two were you and Victor, and I know you both already..." Look! She even knew how to plug the kettle in to make it boil. She was practically modern. "I'm glad I got out and gave it a try. And Professor Skywalker was going to give extra credit to the people who did."

So it was like winning! But with more social anxiety!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor, too, was feeling the odd need not to be alone. Maybe too many memories had been stirred up last night, pleasant as her dates had been. Maybe it was all right to need to speak with other people, regardless of the reason.

"What sort of books are those?" Eleanor asked, noticing Celia's stack. "Informative or entertaining?"

The two could overlap. Eleanor was the type who could read an encyclopedia to amuse herself.

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Is the tea for anyone?" Eleanor asked brightly. "I didn't think to bring my calculus book."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Enlighten us," Eleanor said. "What is it, and how does one bet on it?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"So, you've already figured out the magic of extra credit," Joker noted. "Good instincts! And I'm glad you had a good time."

Joker frowned. "So... what was it about Loki that was so surprising? He's, like, a prince or something, right?" ...Not that he was jealous. That would be silly.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"There's more than enough tea to go around," Elsa promised, smiling at Eleanor and then reaching up to pull down another mug.

Teacups, people. Common rooms clearly needed more teacups.

... Because they wouldn't end up in pieces in no time flat.

"And don't worry, there'll be plenty of time to study. Unless you have something due right away, I suppose. In which case... oops?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"It's a major sporting event," Joker explained. "People bet money on who they think is going to win. 'Cause, y'know, they don't know ahead of time."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Very silly! Loki was way out of Elsa's league. A prince... would have been less so.

"More like a god," she corrected lightly. "I grew up reading about Loki and all of the other gods of Asgard. Thor, Odin, Heimdallr, Skaði. I wasn't exactly expecting to find myself sitting across from him in a grimy bar so far from home."

There was a moment's pause, and then she added, "He was much shorter than I had expected him to be."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"I don't," Eleanor laughed. "If I did, it'd be rather irresponsible of me to be out socializing instead of working on it. I just came in for the company. And the tea."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"So you already know who won?" she asked. "You could win money betting on it then, couldn't you?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"Hey, now, let's not go ripping on short people," Joker teased. "We can't exactly help it."

Because that, at least, he could wrap his mind around. "So... a god. That's... wow. That's something. Do you, like, worship him back home? 'Cause that would be kind of... something."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Well, I can personally vouch for the tea," Elsa offered. "They make it so simple, these days. A little bag with the leaves in it, and then you can just throw it all away when it's done."

Would modern wonders never cease?

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"That was the general idea. I mean, it's not like I know know, but I can look it up. Assuming this... universe... isn't too different from my own." Joker shrugged. "Probably for the best, anyway. I'm starting to feel a little guilty for even thinking about it, now."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Mother always went on about how loose leaves were preferable," Eleanor said, shaking her head. "She said the bags didn't keep the flavor quite so fresh. Of course, it was hard enough finding any tea in Rapture. She couldn't be as fussy as she might have liked."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"It is perhaps a gray area, ethically," Eleanor said lightly. "You could always take bets from others and lay the odds accordingly. Less unethical than winning money unfairly, if you're just taking your cut off the top."

Still unethical, since he'd know exactly what to make the odds so they paid out properly, but it had more of an air of legitimacy.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"If we actually actively worshipped them, I'm pretty certain I would be a gibbering mess right now," Elsa pointed out with a soft laugh. "They're part of our folklore, but I don't think anyone has given Loki an offering or... burned candles at an altar or anything like that for hundreds of years, even in my time."

There was a pause, and then she was offering Joker a wry smile.

"I'm just not the sort of person who rules anything out as myth quite so easily."

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm far enough away from home, I don't think I'm in any place to be fussy, myself. It's not quite like what I'm used to, but it'll do."

She plunked a few teabags into the mugs that she'd arranged on the counter.

"I'll admit that I'm all for anything that involves less cleanup afterwards."

What with not having servants around to do it for her, and all.

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Have you ever heard of Voltaire?" Eleanor asked. "There's an expression credited to him that I'm fond of. The perfect is the enemy of the good. I feel that Mother's the type to make that mistake quite a lot. If the tea bags are good enough, and more convenient at that, why hold out for leaves?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I could see making a special effort to use leaves," Elsa ventured, "if they're readily available and you feel like actually investing the time into properly preparing your tea. Perhaps some people find it soothing, going through all of the motions. Like a ritual, of sorts?"

Elsa had, admittedly, developed a lot of those, to keep herself calm while growing up.

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"That's... a good idea. If I had planned it out better and actually knew anything about running a book. All the same... I think I'm more comfortable with saving the unethical stuff for when it's absolutely necessary."