3394/Birthday at Joe's Cafe

Birthday at Joe's Cafe
Date of Scene:	16 September 2020
Location:	Joe's Restaurant and Cafe
Synopsis:	Roy and AJ have a shared birthday dinner at the diner.
Cast of Characters:	AJ Strong, Roy Harper

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AJ Strong has posed:
It may not be the fanciest place in town, but AJ figures the fanciest place in town might just be a bit uncomfortable for the both of them. So when it comes to settling on a place for a birthday dinner, the cozy diner a few blocks from the school just seems like a good fit. With the weather starting to turn, AJ has broken out one of his grey hoodies, partnered with a pair of jeans. Another bonus, no need to dress up. One of the booths by the windows gives a little privacy and the ability to watch people out on their evening strolls.

AJ, for his part, is grinning like a bit of a loon, even as he picks up one of the menus to begin giving it a quick browse, though he likely already knows what he's going to order. Though he's trying not to be too excited, which definitely means he has something up his sleeve, which could be a bit worrying, or rather should be.

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy's dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a pair of black combat boots with a navy blue hoodie on, not looking any fancier than AJ on this, the night of their joint birthday celebration. To be honest, a fancy dinner might be alright, but not quite as laid back and fun as just going to the diner together. Where AJ is grinning and seeming a little too excited, Roy's definitely looking laid back and chill. He's in a pretty decent mood, and doesn't seem overly worried (even if maybe he should be).

"You're gonna split your face right in half if you keep grinning like that," Roy chuckles as he looks over the edge of the menu at AJ across from him and reaches beneath the table to give him a nudge with one booted foot.

AJ Strong has posed:
"That would be horrifying and not at all celebratory." AJ's smile eases a bit, even if he still seems just as excited. His eyes dart back down to the menu, scanning it quickly, and sure enough he settles on something pretty quickly and closes it to put it aside on the table. He picks up the glass of water already on the table for a sip as he waits to order something a bit more.. sugary.

"Sorry, it's.. kinda of first birthday thing together, and it feels like a normal thing to just go out and have a little fun, and I dunno." He shrugs. "It's nice."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy can't help but laugh a little bit at that and says, "Yeah, it would be." He considers for a moment and then he picks up his menu, flips his place setting around, and shifts over to the other side of the booth, to sit next to AJ instead of across from him. He leans in against his shoulder and bumps him gently. "Do not apologize," he grins. "It is our first birthday thing together, and it's awesome, and it's going to be fun. And I'm glad that we're doing it together. Though next year we should do it like.. right in the middle between them."

AJ Strong has posed:
"I usually told dad not to do anything specal for my brithday, I never really wanted to celebrate them, so I guess I just kind of forgot." AJ shrugs, though his grin doesn't fade. "It's different now, but you know, old habits can be hard to break." He bumps his shoulder against Roy in return. When the waitress arrives he lays out his order which as expected is, well, large. "Burger with bacon and an egg, fries, and an order of onion rings, a coke... oh! And can we get some of that chips and spinach dip for an appetizer?"

Roy Harper has posed:
"Yeah, well, now we're going to celebrate it. Maybe twice a year so you can get caught up," Roy says with a sidelong grin. Then, his attention turns to the waitress when she arrives, waiting until AJ's ordered before he puts in his own. "Can I get a cheeseburger with extra cheese, onion rings, a water, and a coffee shake? Thanks!" Then he turns his attention back toward AJ. "You're up to something," he observes. "What have you got up your sleeve?"

AJ Strong has posed:
"Oh! Shake! Peanut butter banana for me. Thanks!" AJ adds in before the waitress can get away. Him and his freakish metabolism. "Twice? How about we just do birthdays and Christmas and call it a year?" He laughs softly. Though at the question he tilts his head to the side. "Not up my sleeve. Hoodie pocket." He pats the front pocket of his hoodie which also causes some paper crinkling noises.

Roy Harper has posed:
"I sit corrected," Roy smirks just a little bit as AJ pats his hoodie pocket and makes something crinkle inside. And while he does glance in that direction curiously, he doesn't push any further than that for the time being. Instead, he just smiles and leans back in the booth, letting one arm drape across the back behind AJ. "This was a good pick. Burgers and shakes sounds just about perfect right now."

AJ Strong has posed:
"Well, I figured something nice and normal was the perfect place. Allllllmost went with Big Belly but figured that might be a little too casual." AJ laughs as he leans back in the booth, back of his neck against Roy's arm. "It's been kind of a fun and wild year.. I mean.. it hasn't even been a year, just feels like a whole year." He looks aside to Roy with a grin. "I owe you a lot."

Roy Harper has posed:
"Plus we go there all the time and we don't go to this one all the time, so that makes it the uh.. celebratory diner," Roy chuckles. He considers and then says, "Yeah, more like half a year, a little more than half, but still.. a lot's happened in half a year." Then he raises both brows and says, "You don't owe me anything. We both do stuff for each other. That's what you do." He grins.

AJ Strong has posed:
"Well, at least while we're at the school." AJ says with a smile. "God.. really only half a year?" He puffs his cheeks as he thinks about that then exhales a sigh with a shake of his head. "Jeeze." After a moment he shrugs. "Okay, maybe.. owe isn't the right word but you've done a lot for me, put faith in me, it means a lot." He pulls the package out of his hoody pocket. The wrapping job isn't the best, and what's inside is oddly shaped at best, longer than it is wide. But obviously no one ever taught AJ how to wrap presents.

Roy Harper has posed:
"Well, I mean.. I came to the school in January after winter break so, that's about nine months or so, and I didn't meant you until almost the Spring, right? So.. a bit over half a year," Roy says as he considers it, doing the timeline figuring in his head. He smiles over at AJ though and he leans a little against his shoulder and says a little more seriously, "I don't know if I'd have stayed on the wagon, or really stuck it out at school after the first few months without your help, you know. I've had plenty of times I got frustrated and wanted to just say fuckit but.. didn't. So.. that means a lot to me, too." He grins at the package as it comes out of AJ's hoodie and says, "Mine for you is back at the dorm. You'll just have to wait til we get back."

AJ Strong has posed:
"February. But yes.. pretty close to spring." AJ says with a small smile. "I got too excited to wait until after dinner." There's not even a hint of an apologetic tone from him, he's just stating simple fact. He got excited so here it is. "Well, I guess that means we're a good influence on each other..." He arches a brow then looks thoughtful. "Huh. Roy Harper, a good influence. Who'da thunk?" It's only lightly teasing but after a moment he turns serioues. "But really, you've been patient with me while I figure things out, you took me seriously when I didn't think anyone would. It's meant a lot."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy snorts at that and laughs, "Yeah, I don't think anyone would believe that one." He doesn't seem to mind the teasing at all. He's certainly among the last to believe he'd be a good influence on anyone else. But he smiles then and wraps his arm that had been draped along the back of the bench around AJ's shoulders and hugs him tightly before letting him go. "I've been happy to do so, and don't plan on stopping." But then he needs both hands to open up the gift, so he takes it and carefully begins to unwrap it.

AJ Strong has posed:
Inside the package is something any archer should be able to recognize on sight. An archery gauntlet, though this one does seem to be custom made, fine leather dyed a deep crimson with little touches of black. There's nothing overly fancy about it, other than the fact it is very well made. "I'm sure you have plenty." AJ starts asthe gift is revealed. "But I dunno, I felt like I should get you someting practical and I went with my gut." There's a little bit of lower lip chewing as he watched Roy's reaction, and an effort not to smile too too wide.

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy grins as he unwraps the gift and sees what it is. He pulls it out and he slides it onto his hand easily, slipping it into place and getting a feel for the leather, his grin only broadening as AJ explains. He turns and places a kiss on AJ's cheek, wrapping an arm around his shoulders again to give him a warm squeeze of thanks. "I love it. Thank you. It matches my suit pretty perfectly, too. This is great. I'll get lots of use out of it." He flexes and curls his hand a little bit, warming the leather a bit.

AJ Strong has posed:
"Of course it matches. I'm not a savage." AJ sys jokingly, leaning into the hug, though quiets a bit when the drinks come over. He's back to chattering away once the waitress is out of ear shot. "It's amazing what people still can make by hand if you find the right craftsman. One of my dad's business partners has a son totally into historical reenactment stuff, asked him if he knew a good leatherworker." He lowers his voice conspiratorially. "It's actually how I got parts of my own suit. People who make high end costumes and stuff. Just asked for a piece here and a piece there. Not the full suit from any one person." He winks.

Roy Harper has posed:
"That's really smart," Roy says, impressed, when AJ lays out how he went about gathering the parts for his outfit from individual crafters then put them together. "I don't think I would have thought about doing it that way. I didn't really have a suit, not one made out of anything professional, until I was already you know.. working in a place where I could get materials and put stuff together." He keeps his voice down and doesn't elaborate too much in the middle of the diner but he knows AJ knows what he's talking about. He grabs his shake and takes a sip and sighs in contentment. "Okay, this was definitely best idea."

AJ Strong has posed:
AJ shrugs a little as if it wasn't that great an idea, but he's still grinning. "Well, I couldn't put anything together that would look halfway decent." Still speaking obliquely because of the diner but her finally nods. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I was hoping you can never have too many." He picks up his own shake and takes a sip, nodding contentedly. "Oh yeah... thank god for Elvis."

Roy Harper has posed:
"I actually don't have that many, and the one that I do have is getting a little bit worn, so I'll keep it as a backup and I'll use this one," Roy says. "So that works out perfectly, actually." He finally does take it off when their food approaches and is set down on the table in front of them, tucking it into the front pocket of his own hoodie instead. He laughs and says, "I'll take the peanut butter, pass on the bananas."

AJ Strong has posed:
"Oh, your loss, more for me. I mean, I'm not a huge solo banana fan, but with peanut butter, that's just magical." AJ takes another pointed sip of his shake. He takes a knife and cuts his burger in half for more easy face-stuffage, and also causing that egg yolk to go leaking all over the burger in a gooey mess that makes AJ mmm softly.

Roy Harper has posed:
"I'll take your word for it," Roy says with a grin, more than happy to let AJ have all the banana and peanut butter that he wants. He laughs at the /pointed/ sip and he takes one of his own. He grabs an onion ring off of his plate and pops that into his mouth, crunching happily. Then he actually falls quiet for a while as he proceeds to munch away on onion rings and navigate the gooey mess that is his extra-cheesy burger.

AJ Strong has posed:
The first few minutes of the meal pass in quiet no doubt because both are too busy stuffing their faces. AJ at the very least is eating like he hasn't seen food in the last three days. The burger is half gone and the fries and dip significantly dwindled by the time he's talking again. "So. I'm thinking ahead to winter break and... maybe, um, it's one of the few times more than one or two of my family are in one place and.. would you mind meeting them?"

Roy Harper has posed:
"Man, I never figured I'd be the guy someone would want to bring home to meet their family," Roy says with a flash of a teasing grin in AJ's direction. He pops another onion ring in his mouth, but when he finishes it he says, "Yeah, I'll meet your family. Any time you want. I'll even promise to behave." He flashes a grin then, broad and maybe just a little bit mischievous.

AJ Strong has posed:
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. My cousin Geoffrey still hasn't been banished from the family. And he once got so drunk he steered his father's boat up onto a sandbar in the middle of Cape Cod Bay and the Coast Guard had to get a tug to pull him free. And he was still allowed to come to Christmas which then involved him skiing naked." AJ shakes his head. "I wouldn't worry too much about it." AJ goes back to chewing an onion ring like that wasn't a weird story and the way he's grinning who could even guess if it's true.

Roy Harper has posed:
"I've definitely never been skiing naked," Roy says, though he makes no comment on being drunk enough to run a boat aground, perhaps judiciously. Instead he takes another sip of his shake and focuses on that. After the sip he says, "You can come down and visit us, too. I know Ollie wouldn't mind at all, or Vanessa. They both like you." He grins.

AJ Strong has posed:
"Well, I mean, they're your family so of course I don't mind coming down to Starling to hang out. Actually, I'm still looking at some of the schools in Starling. There's not a bad music program down there." AJ works diligently at the other half of his burger between sips of shake. "And I like them, too. Mr. Queen's a little nerve-wracking when he gives you that one stare, but I like him."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy laughs at that and says, "You kind of get used to that stare. It's kind of his face. Resting disapproval face is real." He flashes a grin and grabs another bite of his burger, working through it slowly. "But I mean, he really is the closest thing I've got to an uncle. Considering I'd lost two dads pretty much by the time that he took me in. I owe him kind of a lot. Even if we haven't always seen eye to eye on things."

AJ Strong has posed:
"I'll let you in on a secret. Family usually doesn't." AJ shrugs, as if it's not really all that much of a secret. "They're still your family. You worry about them, you get annoyed by them, but at the end of the day as long as they're still there for you, what does it matter?" He picks up his coke for a break from the shake, slurping away. "I think we should get a whole pie to go and gorge on it in the dorms."

Roy Harper has posed:
"I want a chocolate silk pie," Roy says, "Or cherry." Because pie. And those are his two favorites. "We can always get two half pies if you want something different, though. It's your birthday, too." He grins. Then he nods on the topic of family and says, "Yeah. Pretty much. Except it's different because they're not my blood family, you know? He didn't owe me anything. When I fucked up he could have just written me off. But he didn't."

AJ Strong has posed:
"You know, I've been told that sometimes blood has nothing to do with it." AJ smiles faintly, leaning back and patting his stomach. "Or half of each of those because they both sound super good and I'm not particularly picky." He mms softly for a moment. "And chocolate and cherry sounds really good right now." Even as he looks like he's completely stuffed.

Roy Harper has posed:
"Chocolate and cherry is amazing," Roy opines as he finishes off the remainder of his food. He didn't even touch the chips and the dip, but he seems satisfied with what he ate. Maybe he was saving room for those pies. "Or we could get one of each.. and have leftovers." He apparently decides that is going to be the plan, because when the waitress returns, he puts in an order for one of each type of pie to take home with them. "That's what mini fridges are for!"