video 001 (open)

[kelvins]

un: burninate

[fade into a middle aged bald man, sporting a very serious face as he pours himself a healthy double of whiskey over ice. behind him is a healthy assortment of bottles of all shapes and sizes, various shades ranging from clear to amber to dark almost black.

he takes a deliberate swill before clearing his throat. this little display? mick rory coming to you live from criminales.]

Name's Mick. I figure since the city was nice enough to let me have this bar, the least I could do was let all of you have something nice too.

So for the next month, we've got half price drinks at CriminALES. Don't get used to it though.

Oh and if you're looking for a job, I could use a hand. Benefits include a paycheck. You still have to pay for your drinks and no you can't have 'em on the clock.

Comments

[kelvins]

I do. And it's not like I won't have non-alcoholic stuff to offer. They're called mixers.

[most people might think that mick's a complete and utter idiot. he knows sara's called him one on more than one occasion, but he actually does pay attention. so, he's not completely discounting kara's advice here.]

But if you've got any other brilliant ideas on how I can drum up business, go ahead. I'm listening.

[advena]

Gross. Nobody wants to drink those.

( she's thinking of the bottles under the bar at the gallery, those thick, practically neon-colored sugary mixes that got blended with cheap tequila and served up as a lazy margarita to anyone too sloshed to care about the quality offered... which happened to be the majority of the patrons once the hour got late enough. kara might have a sweet tooth, but even she has standards. )

It'd be nice to have something that tastes good available. Like a nice root beer, or club soda — ( how many had she ordered when she'd come in before her shift? ) — or something else.

Though I guess if I get a job I won't have much free time to come drink you out of club soda...

[kelvins]

What are you... [he pauses long enough to consider what in the world she could be referring to that tastes that terrible.] oh you mean that syrupy crap that you get at the grocery store? No. I was talking about coke, sprite, and yes your personal favorite: club soda.

You know I only ever kept that stuff around for you, right? No one else ever ordered it.

[a beat] Come by. We'll talk. Unless your job hunt's already net you something good.

[advena]

( mick might be gruff and malcontent, but he's never been cruel to kara, never said a mean word or even a neutral word in a mean tone. she's fond of him. he's like a grumpy big brother slash uncle figure in her life, and she's glad he's here to make this new place a little more familiar. finding out he only kept club soda around for her? well, it warms kara's alien little heart. ) I like club soda.

( as for his question? well, that one takes her an extra minute or two. ) The job — oh, no, I haven't found anything yet. I just started looking, though. ( hence the library. ) I can come by, if you want. I could use a drink. ( of club soda! obviously! )

[kelvins]

I know.

[he knows she likes club soda. just like she knows that he prefers his beer chilled straight in the bottle. they've had countless drinks together in the time that she'd worked for him at the gallery. they're close. closer than he'd ever thought they'd get after they'd defeated aliens together.

the thought of running a bar without kara sounds absolutely terrible. so, while this is a new place and she's probably likely to be able to find something that she's actually better suited for, mick doesn't necessarily want to find out what that's like. at least not without a fight.]

Swing by. Club soda will be waiting. Still like it with a twist of lime?

[advena]

You got it.

( there's a smile, held for a beat, before she clicks off her video feed. it's a thank you she knows she doesn't need to say out loud. give it just a minute, maybe two, and the door to criminales will open with a creak and a swing. don't mind sunshine incarnate kara danvers settling in on a barstool, as out of place as ever in her librarian chic, looking as comfortable as if she'd been born in the place. )

Mick? ( he's not directly behind the bar, where she thought he might be, but hopefully he's within earshot. )

[kelvins]

[mick shuts off his cuddlephone as kara's smiling face fades to black. he busies himself as he waits for kara to arrive, cleans the bar top, restocks glasses.

eventually he heads to the store room to some more beer for the fridge. he hears the door creak just as he's heading back toward the front half of the bar, the telltale sign that kara's arrived.

mick sets a case down, wipes his hands on his pants and nods his head at her.]

Skirt. Good to see you. [he grabs a glass, drops in a few cubes of ice and tops it off with her beverage of choice. a slice of lime completes the drink, which he sets in front of her before grabbing himself a beer.]

[advena]

( the bar itself looks different — it's bigger, for one thing, and lacks the hastily scrawled crest of the house of el poorly hidden behind a pin-up poster — but the general atmosphere is the same. it feels homey, in a strange way.

with a murmur of gratitude, kara is more than glad to take a sip of her offered drink, the ice clinking against her teeth and then the glass as she settles it back down against the countertop. on a coaster, of course; reaching across the bar was the only way to grab one, but there's no hesitation in that movement. she knows he doesn't mind, after all. )

You too. ( which is true, really. it is good to see him. mick's a familiar face with shared history. ) What did you want to talk about?

[kelvins]

[no, he doesn't mind. kara reaching across the bar is one thing that's never bothered him. patrons? yes. kara's a friend though. one of the few he has, if mick wants to be honest. a swill of his drink, and he's shrugging his shoulders.]

Missed your face. [and then his face grows a little more serious, because he does know why he asked her to swing by. it's just not exactly easy asking for help.] So... back in Eudio, I had Len to help run the bar. And I could ask him if he wants to here, but I don't want to assume that it's even something he wants. He's not the same... doesn't remember or maybe he's not the same Len.

[mick looks vaguely like he's gonna puke, given how much he's talking.] If you're up to it, I could use someone I trust to keep this place from crashing and burning.

[advena]

( she's experienced the strangeness of a similar but different leonard snart, too. it's a bit bizarre to consider the man she'd met and become friends with not knowing her at all, let alone any of the shared experiences they and their circle of acquaintances had gone through in the last city they'd called home. people like mick, who had run a business with him, or barry, who'd... well, kara can only imagine how hard this is on any of them. she's never been quite so grateful that the people she cares about the most remember her, remember eudio and all that happened within its limits. )

You really need another bartender? ( she's good at it, if she's honest, now that she knows what to do a little better. though the question really is... does she want to be a bartender again, in this new place? maybe not permanently, but helping out a friend isn't the worst thing she could do. ) I hadn't really thought about it, but I could fill in for a little while, if that would help. Until you found enough staff, anyway.

[kelvins]

No. I don't need a bartender. [mick stares into his bottle to find it empty, sighs frustratedly at the amber colored glass before tossing it into the bin below. briefly, he considers opening another bottle, but this is probably a conversation best had sober.]

I need help with the books — payroll, expenses, and the business side of things. I need someone I trust. I wouldn't be paying you bartender wages and you wouldn't have to serve a drink unless you wanted to.

[advena]

You want me to... manage your bar. ( well, of all the things kara had thought he might want to discuss with her, this doesn't even rank into the top hundred possibilities. maybe not even the top five hundred. granted, kara's never really thought about the process of bar management — she vaguely knows that leonard had mostly handled the numbers side of things in eudio, the ordering of supplies and the hiring process (or lack thereof, given her own indentured servitude at the beginning).

there's clearly a need for someone to step in and tackle the personnel side of things, considering mick's particularly gruff nature isn't exactly the face of human resources, so she isn't entirely surprised that he wants her help there. the payroll part she's less experienced with, but she has to imagine it's relatively straightforward, mostly detail-oriented... and kara's always been a person good with details. her years as cat grant's personal assistant had taught her that, at least.

and she does need a job, after all. if she wants to leave the double beds and stale decor of the starter apartments and find something a little more like home, she'll need the money to do it. so... ) Why not.

I'll do it. If you really want me to, I'll do it. ( a beat, and then, ) But if I'm not serving drinks, you can't criticize my clothes anymore.

[kelvins]

I'm asking you, aren't I?

[he shoots her a look that makes it pretty clear that if he didn't want her help he wouldn't have even bothered to ask. he knows he's not great with planning things out to a t. recon for heists was always leonard's thing. mick was always happy to be along for the ride, enjoying the thrill. and really, opening the bar was mostly about honoring the past, of his time in the last city, of the connections he'd made there. he hadn't thought about the realities of actually making it a successful, well-functioning part of cadelle.

she may not have experience running a bar, but she understands enough by now, having worked in one. and though he might not say it to her face, kara's one of the smartest people he knows.]

I won't give you shit as long as you don't look like a kindergarten teacher. [but there's mick toying with a smile. a beat passes and then... more seriously] Kara, we run a bar. Pretty sure you want to avoid upskirts as much as I want to avoid having to throw people out before they pay their tab. Just... think about it.

[advena]

I said I'd do it, you don't have to twist my arm.

( now she's smiling, no toying with the expression necessary on her part, evidence that she's gotten his message loud and clear. she'll help because he asked, and because she's admittedly a little flattered that he'd think of her as someone capable of doing so. she might not have a clue what she's doing, but she'll do her best at whatever it is she does.

as far as her clothes go... well, that's another argument altogether. ) I do not look like a kindergarten teacher! ( librarian chic and grandma sweaters were entirely different things, okay? ) And if someone's going to be gross, I'll throw them out myself. You know I can.

( she'd done it exactly once before, back in eudio, when a drunken patron had snuck behind the bar to ask her if she offered more personal services. she'd also had to pay for his clinic services when it was determined that she'd dislocated his shoulder... but literally tossing him out through the double doors had been well worth it. )

[kelvins]

You look a little bit like a kindergarten teacher. Or a librarian.

[the tone is teasing even as he gives her grief over her tragic clothing choices. ]

I know you can take care of yourself, Kara. Do me a favor? At least make 'em pay before you toss them out. [he might be joking about that one. or maybe he's not.]

First order of business now that you're working for me again, we're gonna need some more bartenders and security.

[advena]

Okay, okay. If I have to cover — ( more like when, if the bartenders here have the same tendencies to call out hungover and disgruntled ) — I'll consider wearing pants instead.

( her drink is, sadly, a little empty now that she's sipped at it; reaching across the bar earns her access to the tap, where she can fill her glass with clear bubbles, and an extra stretch provides another twist of lime. hey, she's management now, right? she can nick a lime or two. )

What, do you want to host a job fair? Isn't half priced drinks advertisement enough?

[kelvins]

[mick has no doubt in his mind that his staff is going to call in at least once or twice. he's glad that kara seems to recognize this enough to mention pants.] Glad you're seeing it my way, Skirt.

[he watches the familiar way that she's reaching around the bar to refill her own drink and laughs, confident that he's made the right choice in hiring her.]

Half priced drinks is for paying customers. Staff don't get to partake in drink specials. [a wink and then he's going on...] That'll be two fifty, by the way.

[advena]

Take it out of my paycheck, ( comes kara's easy retort, settling back onto the barstool with an expression that almost looks like it might be a smirk. banter with mick is easy, that light-hearted back-and-forth with someone she respects, someone who she doesn't have to worry about whether there's meaning in the teasing. )

I can't believe you're going to charge me for club soda. Isn't there some rule against that? Designated drivers drink free or something, right?

[kelvins]

[the bark of laughter that greets kara is just mick's way of showing that he appreciates this kara. the one who isn't afraid to go toe to toe with people, who has teeth. if they weren't such good friends he might consider hitting on her, but friendship, true friendship, is such a rare thing and he doesn't want to squander it.

not with kara at any rate.]

I'm not running a charity here. You drink, you pay. Only thing that's free is water.

[advena]

And I'm not paying for club soda the same day you begged me to come save your butt, Mick Rory.

( a defiant sip, brows arching in unspoken challenges, but she's laughing into the bubbles of her drink all the same. )

You wanna fight about it?

[kelvins]

I did not beg. Get your facts straight.

[there's something that swells inside him, warm, possibly fond. it's probably just heartburn he muses. mick rounds the bar in just a few strides, grabbing his heat gun from beneath the counter as he moves.]

You want to take this outside, Supergirl?

[advena]

You know I'm fireproof, right? But if you really want to do community service, though...

( she'll follow him outside, though, face lit with the brightest of grins, looking more like an excited schoolgirl than someone about to throw down; kara bounces on her heels as they square off in the alleyway, all giddy energy and loosely swinging fists. )

Hit me with your best shot, come on, come on!

[kelvins]

Doesn't mean your clothes are!

[he hadn't actually considered that he would need to do community service, but eh. fuck it. he adjusts his grip on the heat gun, adopts a wide stance, unflicks the safety.]

Last chance to back out, Skirt.

[advena]

So, what, you're going to burn my clothes off? If you ruin my dress, I'm really going to have to beat you up.

( as if there was ever a chance that kara danvers would back out of a friendly skirmish. no way, jose. she's going to enjoy watching him bow out... or have to volunteer at the soup kitchen again. )

[kelvins]

Gotta get you out of the grandma attire somehow. If I burn the dress, can we go on another shopping trip?

[he knows damn well that he's outmatched. he's seen kara in action more than once. and yet it's sheer force of will that has him going toe to toe with a super strong alien. mick squeezes the trigger and aims the wide flame at kara.]